


It's a Mad Mad (Inverted) World

by PhoenixStar73



Series: It's a Mad Mad (Inverted) World [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Alec is called Lex in this universe, Alternate Magnus is called Mags in this universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), And Mags has magical talking cats who are constantly plotting his death, Angst, BAMF Magnus Bane, Boys In Love, Characters OOC as needed to support the story, Episode: s01e10 This World Inverted, F/M, First Kiss, Flirting, I stand by that too, Jealous Alec Lightwood, Jealous Magnus Bane, Lessons in getting your man, Lust at First Sight, M/M, Magnus Bane Is A Freewheeling Bisexual, Magnus Bane Is Quite Magical, Miscommunication, Missed signals, Post-Episode: s01e10 This World Inverted, Protective Magnus Bane, Shiny things are big distractions, Smut, Some characters actions might be OOC, Soulmates, Supportive Magnus Bane, Swapping love interests, The easy choice isn't always the best, The road to forever is convoluted, crossing dimensions, i stand by that to the death, true love prevails
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-01-29 21:54:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21417274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixStar73/pseuds/PhoenixStar73
Summary: Fortune Teller/Tarot Card reader Magnus Bane has lived a quiet life, his magic dormant for centuries, as he’s become a master of reinventing himself with the times.  Right now, things are peaceful, and he likes it that way.But his life is about to change, as certain situations force his magic to return, thanks to a redheaded Biscuit who stumbled in from the Shadow World.And to make matters worse, a certain someone inadvertently gets dragged into the fray.This is their story.A Shadowhunters AU (Inverted) taleCOMPLETED! 10/10
Relationships: Alternate Magnus Bane/Alternate Alec Lightwood (Shadowhunters: This World Inverted), Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: It's a Mad Mad (Inverted) World [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954762
Comments: 118
Kudos: 267





	1. Past the Purple Basement Door, with the large swirly things painted on

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sabby1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabby1/gifts).
**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day indeed started ordinary...
> 
> Magnus Bane is just an ordinary being now, with magic dormant for centuries since...until the red haired Biscuit convinced him to try to crash a party, Mr. Gorgeous hazel eyes tries to help him out, and the red haired Biscuit ends up leading Magnus through a purple door. with the large swirly things painted on, down, down into the basement.
> 
> And that was when life _stopped_ being ordinary.

_Those eyes. They were definitely...Hazel. And looking through to his very soul._

At first he had thought them brown, in the current light. That was before the lights changed, and the green flecks had danced prominently as the gorgeous face beamed with a devastating smile. 

So, thought an amused Magnus Bane, the eyes were hazel after all. 

But that was the least of what stood out about the confident guy in front of him with the casual swagger. 

It was the look he gave him. Which took his breath away.

It wasn’t even that long of a look. But rather it was the intensity of it, and the practiced way the guy had of just catching your gaze, and your breath, with one intense gaze, before revealing that smile. 

Then letting his gaze travel down the rest of your body. Devouring it. Hungrily.

What was he even looking at? 

His hair was slicked and parted to the side, nothing special.

And this grey suit he was wearing completely _paled_ in comparison to this guy’s tailored outfit over a navy sportcoat. 

Not to mention this guy practically emanated a presence similar to that of a Greek God.

By that time though, Magnus knew he was done for. _Wrecked._

By one ever so confident Institute party planner, dressed to the nines, with perfectly coifed dark hair, and those killer eyes to boot.

Gulping, Magnus had tried to regain his composure, even as Alec led him inside the Mad Hatter party, organized by the Institute. 

**He was here on business. He had to find the Clary from the alternative (Shadow) universe.**

And quickly too -- lest she assimilate into this world. From what she’s told him, it had already happened quite a few times already. And it could _not_ happen at this party – not when they were thisclose to getting her back to her world.

What he had not anticipated was running into this guy. 

Magnus had half-expected him to walk him aside somewhere and call him out, even jokingly, for deliberately trying to sneak into this exclusive party. Instead, he had urged a cup and saucer filled with some sweet mixed drink toward him, his eyes never leaving his face. 

Magnus, surprised, blankly took it, nodding a thanks. This guy was seriously unnerving him…

“Alec Lightwood,” the suave guy drawled, introducing himself.

_God, his voice was smooth_. Wouldn’t mind hearing that voice in other situations..._oh stop it Magnus, you are not here for that! _

A warm feeling started to creep up in his gut, almost talking his breath away. It haadbeen quite a long time, maybe too long, that someone had piqued his interest. He had almost forgotten what this felt like.

Anyway it was not as if it was entirely by choice.

He used to meet lots of people when he would go out to parties, eons ago.

But once he had decided to go incognito, all that had ceased. Including his magic..

_“_And you might be?” Alec pressed on, breaking into Magnus's thoughts. 

Was he still _here_? Magnus wondered idly. But _why_? 

He suddenly realized that his gaze had been steadily focused on the perfect bow that was Alec Lightwood's lips during this entire time. _Egad..._Alec's gaze back at him was smoldering, with those lips now slightly twisted in a smirk. 

He could feel the flush creeping up his neck, and willed it down. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get rid of any nervousness which might have betrayed his raging emotions inside.

“Magnus Bane,” Magnus answered automatically, taking a sip from the cup. There, he had the right combination of aloofness and normalness in that tone. Thank goodness. 

Suddenly he caught a glimpse of alternative world (or was it Shadow World, as she had put it?) Clary, slowdancing with this universe’s Jace. He needed to talk to her right away.

He turned to Alec. “Thanks,” he said, acknowledging the drink, “But I gotta go.” Then he sped off with the quickness, leaving Alec looking after him, a baffled look on his face. But that expression quickly left his face, replaced again by his signature smirk. 

He’ll be back, he thought. They always come back.

He looked around the venue, with his carefully crafted décor, the people enjoying the exhibits, and everyone else dancing and drinking and laughing. His party was a success, and that should have been enough. Instead his thoughts never strayed far from that gorgeous lean machine of a man. True, his fashion taste could use a little work. However, he filled out his suit _nicely_. And there was just something about him, couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Magnus Bane, eh?” he murmured to himself, smiling as he drank from his cup. “Playing hard to get, eh? Well, I _love_ a challenge.”

_You’ve my challenge now. I will get to know you, yet. That I can promise. _

His smile widened. He had to run into him again, somehow, before the night ended.

Then he saw his object of desire corner the petite redhead, Clary -- who was Jace’s girlfriend, or at least he thought she was? – moved his hands a bit, but for what, he could not tell. She looked confused at first, but then seemed to recognize him. They linked hands -- at which Alec frowned upon seeing that. Then he watched as they hurried toward the large purple door, with the swirly things painted on, leading down to the basement. Magnus had turned back briefly to survey the area before closing the door.

His eyes narrowed. What were they up to? he wondered.

His ego wondered, Eh? So he swings both ways? For a minute his heart hurt. Badly. Which was silly, since he had _just_ met the guy. What were all these feelings coming in for? 

But alas, they were _there._ He didn’t like that, feelings. Or to think that he lost a prospect to _her_. 

Alec Lightwood usually got his man.

The next minute, his mind was made up. _Let’s see what she has that I don’t. And, I might as well check on her for Jace. Gotta keep your girlfriend in check, dude._

Putting the cup down, he straightened out his sportscoat, and made a beeline for the same door. _That purple door, with the large swirly things painted on_, which he had seen the two disappear into.

Just then Jace crossed quickly in front of him, and flung the door open with unmistakable force, sq his face set in an unreadable mask. A man with a mission. Ah he held a look in his eyes that Alec knew all too well. Jace had seen the two leave together, his girlfriend and that guy, and now he was out for blood.

They made it downstairs, to see both Magnus Bane and Clary Fray/Morgenstern holding each other by the elbows. Not exactly the most innocent scene here.

Simultaneously, they both turned at the sound, and jumped with surprise at seeing unexpected company, with guilty (?) looks on both their faces. Alec raised his eyebrow, looking at the pair. Magnus blinked, as if not having expected to see Alec again. “Uhh,” Magnus said, his mind at a blank. 

Jace just seethed, staring at the pair. “Never call me again!” he shouted to Clary, and ran back up the stairs. Clary sighed. “Oh man…this universe’s Jace is quite the drama queen,” she muttered.

Just then there was a huge roar between the bookshelf. Now that caught everyone’s attention. “W-what was that?” Alec stammered, stepping closer to both Magnus and Clary. Alec’s eyes widened even more as two olive green tentacles lashed out, causing all three to flinch and jump back.

“Uhh, all the legends are true?” Clary offered. Magnus just glared at her. "Shush!"he admonished her in a whisper, taking her elbow and pulling her close to him so he could talk to her out of earshot from Alec. “Right, so this universe is not supposed to have demons. This must have come in through your dimension. No one’s magic or runes are active here; and no one has ever encountered a demon. We are not fit to enter into a fight with one either.” He took a few books and threw them futilely at the demon. And rolled his eyes as he realized what a dumb thing he just did. Books? What a laugh. Well, the tentacle did recoil, as if shocked, so guess that was better than nothing.

As Magnus and Clary were whispering, they had forgotten that Alec was there. 

He had heard their exchange despite their low tones -- for some reason he had always had really great hearing since he was young, and could hear sounds at higher frequency or lower tones than others around him.

Demon? Runes?

His grandmother had told him bedtime stories from days of old about battling those...as Shadowhunters?

Out of everyone, he had devoured every word and would always want more stories. His grandmother would just laugh this lilting laugh...very girly and cute.

"Be glad you were not born in that age. Those were dark times," she would admonish him, ruffling his unruly dark hair. "You are so incorrigible. Never let anyone tell you who you are. You go figure that out for yourself." 

It was because of her, that he had embraced his sexual orientation early on, and proudly.

_But hearing about demons...and now thisclose to one in real life were two very different situations..._

"Wow, those are tentacles from a...demon??" Alec's voice squeaked. 

He suddenly flushed at the way his voice sounded. 

When did he ever squeak in his life??

The others turned to look at him as the high pitched nature of his voice registered. "Uhh," he managed, at a loss of words, especially as Magnus's gaze fell upon him. 

A flurry of thoughts ran through Magnus's head. _ He knows about demons???_ Magnus thought, his eyes widening in surprise. Clary was staring at Alec also, with his mouth open.

Also, Isabelle's very sassy and very "out" brother, _squeaks?_

_God can Magnus Bane be any more cuter,_ Alec thought, flushing more, and wishing a hole would just swallow him up into the ground. 

At another time, Magnus would have thought it extremely cute for that type of sound to come out of Alec. However, the more pressing matter at hand was this demon, who had surged forward again. This time the grotesque being had shown itself, 8 feet tall and aggressively snapping at them.

"Clary!" Magnus's voice suddenly rang out, authoritative, which belied his meek looking self, and both Alec and Clary looked startled. Magnus could have sworn that Alec's eyes darkened and dilated in response as well, but then again, that could have been a trick of the light. They were in a basement, after all.

"Throw me that mop!" Magnus commanded, pointing. Clary dutifully ran over and picked it up. Alec looked at him skeptically. 

What was he going to do,_ sweep it away?_

That thought halted as Magnus stomped on the junction of the handle and the mop bristles so that it separated, and the metal end was showing. Then in a fencing type of move -- _who even does that anymore, it's a lost art_, Alec thought idly --, he gracefully lunged forward, with the stick pointing toward the demon.

_Hot damn, just look at him!_ Alec thought, getting aroused at all of this, despite being scared to death.

Just then, by luck or poor fortune, the demon had also lunged at Magnus. 

Clary screamed, and Alec stumbled backwards. This was way too intense! He shut his eyes.

Then they heard a loud shriek, following with fizzles and sizzling sounds. Alec peeked out from behind Clary. All that was left was Magnus, still in the lunge position, holding the stick from the mop upward, with black goo on the majority of the mop. 

Residual reddish sediments floated through the air around him. His face was frozen, with no expression. Only his eyes belied all of that. 

They held immense fear, as if he was in shock. Also, was the color flickering? Alec could have sworn he saw brief flashes of gold come into the rich brown eyes. And those went _straight_ to his groin. _Oh god..._

Magnus then blinked. Once, twice.

"Oh my god, Magnus," Clary said, the first one to speak. She rushed to him. "Are you okay?" Slowly he turned to face her, his eyes still trying to _focus._ then his skin paled. 

"I think I'm going to be sick," he muttered, pushing her aside to run as far from them as possible. He turned the corner, and then retching sounds could be heard. 

Magnus had never felt so sick in his life. Or so embarrassed. 

Ugh here he was, a 400+ year old warlock, having battled demons back the day when it was an every day thing --- now bent over and retching at having impaled one? 

For shame, he belittled himself. 

You are soo out of the loop. If only the elders could see you now, he thought bitterly, as he attempted to control his coughing. 

Ugh he even got some on his shoes now. Gross! 

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“You okay?” Magnus nearly jumped out of his own skin at the deep voice. 

His eyes popped as he took in Mr. Hazel eyes Alec Lightwood standing in front of him, holding out tissues with an empathetic look in his eyes. 

Magnus flushed. 

He was so embarrassed. 

Of all the people to look like crap in front of! 

Can I just die now, Lillith? he screamed inwardly. 

But he put on a small smile, and accepted the tissue from Alec.

“Thanks,” he muttered, wiping his mouth quickly, and then whatever mess was on his shoes. “Ugh those are done for, I guess..."

“Oh I’m sure they will be fine,” Alec said airily. “I’ve had worse happen after getting drunk at one of my Institute parties. Yours…well it was pretty substantiated. You practically tore a hole in that demon, just when he was about to jump you! I have to admit -- that was pretty cool! Where did you _learn_ that move? I did not think anyone knew how to fence anymore. Your stance is impeccable!” Alec stated, talking really fast and bubbling over with enthusiasm. 

His hazel eyes were bright, and his smile beaming like the sun.

Oh god, please let me stop now, Alec thought, as his mouth kept up the word vomit.

His brain had stopped functioning after witnessing Magnus Bane fencing like an expert, that stance revealing almost a perfect silhouette of his muscular thighs and backside under those fitted pants. 

_Holy crap…_

Magnus was looking at him with an unreadable expression, his mouth hanging open.

Mr. Smooth was nervous, talking to _him_?

And having just spewed out his guts -- Magnus could still taste the nastiness in his mouth.

And this man, _this perfect man_, was flirting with him! Wonders never cease...

He started coughing at that moment.

"I could actually use some water," he ventured uncertainly, making sure he had finished needing to vomit.

That stopped Alec's banter, and he looked purposeful again.

"I'll get you some," he said dulcetly, "Don't you go anywhere, darling."

He touched Magnus's arm briefly as he fixed his gaze on him. Then he turned and ran up the steps. 

Magnus's arm burned where Alec had touched it. His lips formed into a twist as he smiled ruefully. What a weird turn of events!

"Man, you two need to _get_ a room already," a female voice stated. Clary had slowly crept up behind the two during their exchange, and had her hand over her mouth. She was half snickering.

"Oh shut up," grumbled Magnus, flushing a deep red. Despite himself, he started laughing. This whole evening had been full of surprises.

He had to admit, it had made him feel more alive than he's felt in _years. _

But he was not sure if that had been entirely due to his magic slowly awakening, or was that due to the presence of the hazel eyed wonder...

"So," he said, nodding toward Clary, back to business,"Got that portal shard on you?" After all that was the initial reason they had come downstairs. The portal shard Clary had been carrying, a gift from her mother Jocelyn in the form of a necklace, had been a product of this world -- how Jocelyn had even come about this was still a mystery in itself. 

Clary nodded, lifting up the necklace on her neck to show him. "Follow me, I think the wall is actually facing the stairs, I thought I saw a spot that was missing from the wall."

As they arrived at the wall, the wall seemed to glow a faint purple, as if it sensed it's missing piece nearby, which would then make it whole. Within this Mundane world, it was this wall that faced them right now that held the key to Clary going back to the Shadow World. 

Magnus scrutinized the wall for a bit before speaking. "Okay, now all we need to do is to place that shard in there, like a puzzle piece --"

Suddenly something like a sixth sense struck Magnus. Almost involuntarily, his arm jerked straight reaching as if to point behind him. Then the sensation... _almost unfamiliar_ since it had been too long, _it_ was his magic?! -- shooting out just as a voice yelled, "_Oh fuck_!"

Clary whirled around at the voice. And froze at the sight of a shocked Alec Lightwood, halfway falling down the stairs, holding a water bottle. But now suspended in air. His eyes were bugging, looking around frantically.

Meanwhile, Magnus's eyes had rolled back amidst stumbling when his magic had shot out. It didn't usually have this effect on him -- at all! But given years of being dormant, it had the potency equivalent of a really strong..._orgasm_? _Oh god... don't make a sound, don't moan, don't do anything, _Magnus thought desperately, biting his lip as hard as he could and shutting his eyes closed. He could also feel his eyes flickering even know strongly than before. Which had not happened in eons... He also had to consciously plant his feet firmly on the ground, as he was _thisclose_ to _collapsing_ due to the intensity of this situation...

"Magnus? Magnus! You caught Alec! But you need to lower him. Slowly," Clarys voice said, immediately sobering him up. Ugh his eyes were still not back to normal, he thought, suddenly afraid. _He's going to think I'm a freak!_ he thought. Then he realized that he probably already thought that, especially since he was being suspended in mid-air by _magic_. . _Ah well, the jig was up! _

He opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder to face Alec, still suspended in the air in an aura of blue magic emanating from his arm. He steeled himself, preparing for the shocked, horrified, or disgusted look on his face.

_"Ohhh,"_ Alec breathed, upon seeing those golden eyes on his paramour. The blue streak approaching him as he had tripped coming down the stairs had definitely caught him by surprise. Then those eyes.

Those magnificent eyes.

Come to think of it, he had caught glimpses of that before, like a hint shortly after Magnus had vanquished that demon. But now they were on full display. 

And they were _breathtaking._

Again he cycled through the many stories his grandmother had told him in his head -- magic...magic...downworlders...warlocks? _Warlocks usually possess a warlock mark, which presents either at birth or at some point prior to maturity,_ his grandmother had told him. Hmm, so was Magnus a warlock then? 

"P-please don't say anything now," he heard Magnus plead in a small voice. "I want you to remain calm. I am just bringing you back down to safety..." Magnus's face was stony, yet he detected a trace of... _shame_?

Oh my god, _never_!

Magnus pushed away the doubts, and concentrated on bringing Alec gently down the stairs. It was like floating, Alec realized. So gentle. Just like Magnus. As his feet touched the ground firmly, he felt a little loopy. 

He automatically held out the water bottle to Magnus. Magnus looked at him in surprise. He had forgotten Alec had gone upstairs to get that for him. “Thanks,” he murmured, taking the water from him. “Excuse me,” he said. He walked a few steps away, tipped his head back to drink some water, and then swished some around his mouth and spit it out, to get his mouth clean. Wow, that felt so much better! He was so grateful to Alec. The guy was so unreal.

He walked back, and absentmindedly licked his lips, as some drops of water had remained on his mouth. 

Oh my god, Alec thought, as he watched that unfold. He couldn’t stop staring at Magnus’s mouth and what his tongue had been doing just before. Gulping, he looked up, and noticed that Magnus’s eyes were now brown again.

Magnus's mouth opened, and he began to speak. "Alec," he said, with difficulty, "I'm a --"

“Oh, _nooooo…_” Alec breathed, which startled Magnus. He looked at him questioningly.

“Your eyes…no more gold?” Alec's voice sounded wistful, kinda like a baby voice -- which suddenly made Magnus chuckle, while his heart was singing madly. He then grinned, feeling crazy bold in light of everything that had happened.

“Oh okayyyy, cutiepie,” he drawled. Wow where did that just come from? he wondered, feeling giddy, “Just for you then, pup.”

He winked, and then dropped his glamour. 

Alec’s eyes dilated, and he took in a sharp intake of breath.

"They're beautiful," Alec stated, feeling lightheaded, not being able to stop looking into them. 

Huh? Magnus thought, looking back at the man. A freak of nature, an abomination, his eyes have been called. Never beautiful though...

Suddenly the man was _thisclose_ to him, and his hand cupping his face. "You're beautiful," he whispered, and Magnus shivered at the contact, and then even more as soft lips touched his. His eyes widened, and then almost as immediately his mouth yielded to his. Then he was moving in response with Alec Lightwood, arms going around the neck to steady himself as Alec pressed into him, lips as delicious as soon, plump and yielding. Then's Alec's lips were on the hollow of his throat, and Magnus moaned. And heard himself... Wow that came out a bit too loudly, he thought, flushing.

Then another groan was heard, and the men jumped apart in surprise. Clary had one eyebrow raised. "That was really really hot," she admitted ruefully, a hint of blush on her cheeks -- Magnus was sure his cheeks were full on flaming now -- "But ugh, Magnus, I didn't need a _preview_ of how you might sound in the bedroom. You're practically like an uncle to me," she stated, making a face.

"I certainly didn't mind, darling." Alecs confident voice had returned, along with a lascivious undertone that made Magnus weak in the knees. 

_Alec Lightwood was going to be the death of him..._

_***************_

_".._.we should really be focusing on getting this portal up," Clary's voice sounded really far away to Magnus, who was still in a trance after that surprise kiss. Magnus suddenly felt shy and could not really look at Alec. After a minute, he cast a furtive glance over at Alec, and saw him waggle his eyebrows at him. Of course he couldnt' help but for his gaze to travel to Alec's beautiful lips. Just then Alec licked his lips, and Magnus's brain short-circuited. 

"...Er, right, the portal," Magnus said absentmindedly, his eyes still on Alec's lips.

"Portal? What's this about a portal?" Alec asked curiously, his attention suddenly on Clary. Why did that sound so familiar? he wondered.

"Portals, for traveling in between dimensions," Clary interjected, trying to be helpful. "You know...Magnus here, is full of surprises. He _invented_ the portal, you know. All those centuries ago." 

"C-Centuries?" Alec repeated. Behind him, Magnus widened his eyes at Clary and mouthed, "_What the hell_!" Oh man, this girl had a big mouth!

"Wait..." Alec said, seemingly _already_ over the fact that he had just learned that Magnus was centuries old, "_Henry Branwell_! My grandmother did tell me this story! About the portal! No wonder why it sounded familiar! So you were the warlock that invented the portal, with Henry Branwell present. _A...Shadowhunter_!" He turned to regard Magnus with shining eyes. "Wow, is there _anything_ you can't do??" 

Magnus blushed. Again he wondered if he was dreaming, to have met this amazing man today. And as his magic had slowly returned during the evening, he could smell out the faint traces of Nephilim blood on Alec. So things really aren't all that different between the dimensions after all. Nephilim stay Nephilim... and vice versa etc, he thought.

"Shadowhunters, yes that's what I am," Clary mused. She turned to Alec. "And so are you, by blood. The Lightwoods in the Shadow World are a prominent Shadowhunter/Nephilim family." Alec's face registered surprise for a moment. _The Shadow World?_

"... And your counterpart is rather sharp and amazing with the bow and quiver," Clary continued. That caught Alec's attention. "There's a Shadow World version of me?" he asked curiously. He recalled dabbling with archery when he was 12.. but he eventually had to give it up. _How fitting_, he thought.

" Yes," Clary confirmed. "There's actually a Shadow version of everyone in this dimension. It's really been surreal for me, this far." Clary seemed like she was reliving the past few days in her head. Her eyes flitted over to Magnus, smiling as she recalled their meeting, and her demonstrating the flourish with his hands. Magnus, catching her gaze at this moment, gave her the same mock glare he gave her that day. But his eyes were crinkling at the corners. She grinned at him. 

Then she remembered she was still addressing Alec. She continued talking. "However, we don't get along, for some reason, me and Alec. He actually acts like he despises me. He's not exactly a people person. And, he's definitely far from being open about himself, if you are any indication to go by--"

"Oh right, because we are supposed to have the same characteristics, no matter what dimension, right? Hm, so this guy is in the closet, so to speak." Clary nodded. "Yea, that was me when I was 15. My grandmother was very supportive, as was Izzy. So it was a little easier on him. Also I didn't really care what my parents thought, they have never been very involved in my life, and then after the divorce, they were just involved with their own thing. As long as I had Izzy and Jace with me, I was okay." 

He paused, then frowned. "Hm, my counterpart doesn't really have that support... does he?" he said slowly.

Clary shook his head. "Alec in my dimension is very closed off, he's stiff all the time, a stickler for rules, always standing like a soldier, can't take a joke. And last I heard that his parents want him to marry, take a wife...And actually i think he's currently engaged." 

The color on Alec's face had drained upon hearing Clarys last words. "Ugh, I don't feel so good," he muttered. Magnus, who had been silent all this time, rushed to his side, putting an arm around him. "Need a shoulder?" he asked, concerned.

Alec smiled weakly. "You're such a darling. Thank you," he whispered, leaning his head on Magnus's shoulder. 

"And my Shadow World version of me?" Magnus couldn't help asking.

"Oh, he's totally a rock star. And flirty. And completely the quinnescential free-wheeling bisexual Warlock," Clary stated." And oh yes, with sexual innuendos on tap." Magnus flushed at that. “And oh, he’s on the top of the World, pretty much – The High Warlock of Brooklyn.” Alec’s eyes widened at that, his eyes dilating at the mention, something that did not go unnoticed by Magnus. Oh, so he’s impressed by power? he thought in dismay, looking down at his plain clothing, with only some magic that was only beginning to come back. But far from how it was, eons ago. He was only a tarot card reader/fortune teller who decided to live simply once the magic had dissipated in this realm. His counterpart certainly sounded like he had it all. How could he even begin to compete?

Then he realized Alec’s eyes were on him. “He certainly sounds powerful. But he’s also you, so you must have that potential,” he whispered, and it sent chills down Magnus’s spine. “That is so hot. I can tell that you have the potential for that,” he purred. “Especially when you ordered Clary around when you guy were fighting the demon, my god, You can order me around _any time, anywhere. For real._ " Alec's mouth was so close to Magnus's ear right now, his voice having risen slightly to sound slightly kittenish. His hand was on his shoulder, and the tingles increased. It made Magnus’s legs turned to jelly upon hearing these words, and his breathing hitched. 

Christ, Alec, he thought, groaning slightly, what are you doing to me???? He flushed, feeling the warmth creep up the back of his neck.

Clary sighed loudly, upon seeing the two lovebirds flirting again. “Uh, I need to get back? Magnus? I mean all this rehashing is nice, and seeing you two flirting is great, but my mother is still in stasis and we really need to get back in order to wake her up.” 

“Ah right, well, the magic needed to wake her is in a Book Called The Book of the White,a like the one you you saw at my loft; there should be an equivalent of this book in your world. Remember, the one with the bookmark that I had in my loft? So just look for that.”

Magnus took the portal shard from Clary, and placed it in the hole in the wall. Magnus then whispered, ‘Please work…” as he focused his mind, and waved his arms around in a clockwise circle Suddenly the whole wall glowed a shimmering purple. Alec didn’t know where to look, the portal surface kept shifting as if it was ever moving. Clary let out a huge squeak of joy, and hugged Magnus tightly. “Thank you, thank you so much!” she said gratefully. She started to step one foot into the portal.

“No, thank you, for helping me to reawaken my magic,” Magnus said, grinning. 

Behind him, Alec stepped forward. “And thank you for helping us to meet,” he said. He reached out to shake her hand. I feel like you were meant to come here to facilitate our meeting, Clary, and I will never forget this -- ”

Alec grasped Clary’s hand in a firm grip to shake. 

Suddenly there was a slight rumble that shook the foundations of the basement.

Oh dear, Magnus thought. In all the centuries in which he has lived, he recognized this to be an extremely rare side effect of dormant magic being revived...sometimes it would just be a tremor. Other times it could rival that of a mundane earthquake. This one, as he was slowly realizing -- in horror -- was starting to resemble the latter kind. Shit! he thought, his eyes widening. And there was nothing he could do..

The next series of events_ happened within the next few seconds._ To Magnus, it seemed like slow-motion...

_The rumbling increased thousandfold in minutes. It was so strong, in fact, that everyone tripped, flipped, fell over where they stood. Magnus was knocked over on his butt, Clary stumbled badly and fell forward, Alec was still grasping Clary's hand, and he stumbled, tripped and fell headfirst. His arms shot out in front of him to steady himself --_

_Except that he had still been holding Clary’s hand, so now he inadvertently shoved her through the portal, and as she fell through, she ended up pulling him along since he had not let go. So off he went through the portal too! _

“Oh my god, whaaaaa ---” he shrieked, as he stumbled and fell through the portal, his back foot disappearing through the purple shimmer. 

“Alec!!!” Magnus shrieked, still sitting back on the floor, a bit dazed. Did that just happen? Did Alec Lightwood of this world just fall and stumble through the portal with Shadow World Clary? He glanced at the surface in front of him. The purple shimmer had completely disappeared, leaving behing the original plain purple wall.

Damn, and we were just getting to know one another too, Alec and I! he thought, disappointed. 

_Something always had to happen, right? _

Well, no matter, he thought. Now that he had his magic, he could easily manifest another portal. As long as he knew that the magic was in this wall down in the basement. Thing is, one couldn’t portal to a place that they have never been before. To do that is to risk being in limbo, or to end up in a place you did not expect.

Thing is, would Magnus himself have the necessary mettle needed to do whatever it took to chase down Alec Lightwood so he could bring him back to this world? 

He had to take a moment to ponder that. In his heart, he knew what the answer _should_ be.

But...he _truly_ hated being placed in stressful situations. For centuries since, he had not needed to be in this situation. He had come to relish the monotonous comfort that Mundane life brought to him. Free of persecution, free of danger.

Until today, when a certain redhead had crashed into his world and upended it in all ways possible—and also allowing him to meet that amazing hazel eyed wonder. 

Who was very possibly now in the Shadow World with her.

Who he could see some potential with -- potential he hasn't felt in a long time, _with anyone._

What to do, what to do…

”Ugh, I need a drink,” Magnus muttered in annoyance, for the first time in centuries, while idly moving his fingers about. 

Poof! A Martini glass suddenly appeared in his hand, with a light purple glow in it. Shocked, Magnus nearly dropped the glass – he had not expected it to appear just like that. He just stared at it for a few seconds, his eyes wide with wonder. 

“Well, this is an interesting development,” he mused, a small smile appearing on his face. Looks like his magic was becoming a bit more responsive to him now, without him needing to concentrate so much on it. Not like a few hours ago. He tipped the glass to his mouth, taking a sip from it. Wow, the concoction was perfect also.

He smiled. He was going to enjoy this drink. Before doing or thinking anything else.

He even feels a more incessant buzzing under his skin now, which was certainly not present before. 

Hmm, he's going to try something. 

He slowly brings his hand up to his face, and slowly moves his hand down the length of his body. And with the briefest touch, his hair glows with highlights of dark blue on black hair, tossed in a more bedhead, casual style, and he is now wearing dark blue eyeliner and lip gloss. HIs suit has also now become a dark blue, sheeny fabric.

He grins widely. For old times sake. Or, he thinks, out with the old, and In with the new? Maybe it's time to stop being so _Mundane_. He is what he is, right? He pictures Alec's possible reaction to this small makeover of his. His eyes dilate at the thought of it.

The rest of the details, he will figure out later. 

As he ponders this portal he will be creating once he is fully recharged -- to go find Alec.

All in the name of love. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 to come: Alec's thoughts as he lands in the Shadow World...


	2. Onward to Unfamiliar, Bright, and Shiny Things...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling through the portal into New York City -- a Shadow Version of Alec's world...  
Riding an Uber...  
A potenitial friendship between Alec and Clary (of all people!)...  
Being ditched temporarily --- to face the High Warlock on his own  
..and BLINDED by fabulousness, shiny things
> 
> ...oh my!
> 
> I guess there are worse things that could happen to someone, heehee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is ALECs POV....

**ALEC POV***

Amidst the swirly purpleness of the portal, Alec Lightwood was about to throw up his guts. And then some. 

He briefly bent over, his hands on both knees, and gagged. Nothing came out. Taking a deep breath, he felt immense relief as the feeling slowly subsided.

His head was _spinning -- _most of which had nothing to do with the portal he was currently traveling within. 

Never mind that he had just tripped, almost fell on his face, due to some spontaneous earthquake that had occurred back at the basement of the Institute. But he had still been holding Clary's hand -- well, not his brother Jace's girlfriend, but Clary from the Shadow World -- who claims she had taken over her persona once she had arrived in his world. 

In light of everything he had learned in the past hour or however long ago, that part was still very farfetched to him.

And now -- she had inadvertently pulled him into the portal with her. Speaking of _which_..

He looked up quickly, just in time to catch a glimpse of the back of the fiery redhead -- who had just disappeared into the swirling purple mist a few feet in front of him.

Huh? his mind raced, as he put forth all his might to catch up to her. He certainly didn't want to lose sight of her ---

But never mind any of _that,_ as he was suddenly stumbling out onto a grassy area, light wisps of purple magic about him, quickly dissipating. He put his hand out to see if he could feel anything by touching it. 

Nope, it just breezed away like smoke. 

Then Clary was waving her hand in front of him..."Alec, Alec!" she kept saying. 

"... Where are we?" He surveyed the area quickly. Wait a second...This area somehow looked _familiar_... Yet unfamiliar at the same time. Something seemed slightly out of focus...

“Upper East Side,” Clary stated idly. “This is where our headquarters is located.”

Alec looked around. They were both standing in a park.

What Institute? 

Maybe she meant, near the outskirts, where the rest of the city buildings were. The only building he saw near them was a decrepit-looking cathedral. While it looked like it had been nice once, now it looked abandoned.

Suddenly Alec found Clary staring at him intensely. Alec could see the wheels turning in her head. 

"W-Wait..." she sputtered, suddenly looking confused. "How are you -- _here_ \-- with me right now, instead of inhabiting the Alec of this world? How are you _still_ you?" 

Ah, Alec thought, she was referring to how she had inhabited the Clary of his world. 

He squinted at her. "Uh...I got lucky?" he joked. 

“This is potentially trouble,” Clary mused. “If there are going to be two of you here for awhile. We definitely need answers.”

“Oh, you know someone?” Alec asked.

“The High Warlock of Brooklyn,” she stated automatically.

Nooooo... Really? “M-Magnus?” Alec squeaked

Wow, so he was really going to meet the High Warlock of Brooklyn in the flesh, this soon? The other version of the shy warlock who had mesmerized him, back at his party.

He suddenly felt a pang in his heart. He missed _his_ warlock.

_He's not really yours_, a voice said inside of his head. _You've only just met him_.

“Right," Clary responded, looking at him strangely. She chuckled. "You know, Alec. This is the second time you squeaked. I guess you do that when you're nervous, eh? I wonder if your counterpart does that as well. Usually he's as stiff as a board."

“Well, that certainly doesn’t sound like any fun,” Alec stated. Not for the first time, he thought his counterpart sounded like such a bore.

"Anyway, get ready, because our version of Magnus likes a little flash,” she chuckled. She took out her stele. "We should be able to get there in 5..." She trailed off as she realized something.

She sighed. "Right, you don't have runes. So we can't activate the speed rune. I guess we need to do this the old fashioned way – Uber!” She took out her phone, tapped in some information, and then turned to Alec. “Our car will come by in a few minutes,” she stated.

“A car is going to come meet us?” Alec asked dumbly. There was no such thing as car service in his world.

“Sure!” Clary stated. “Well, unless you feel like walking. It’s a bit far to walk from here to Brooklyn.”

Alec shrugged. “You seem like you know what you’re doing. I trust you,” he stated simply. Clary beamed at him. Alec was taken aback. This girl certainly wore her heart on her sleeve, so full of emotion and joy. Jace’s Clary in his world was like this too but more understated – a less bubbly artist type.

This Clary, Shadow World version, seemed like she would run off chasing down demons at a moments’ notice.

Speaking of which, he had been so deep in thought, that he hadn’t realized she had already taken off running down the block. “Hey!” he heard her yell. “We’re over here! We ordered a car!” 

Oh boy, he thought, grinning. He took off after her. They both caught up to the car and hopped in.

“Brooklyn Promenade,” Clary stated. She turned to Alec. “This is going to take awhile. Just sit back and enjoy the sights.”

******************

“And here we are, approaching the Brooklyn Bridge..."

Alec brightened at the sight of the bridge. "Ooh, that exists here too!" he said.

Clary nodded. "It's practically a landmark here."

"Ah," she stated, finally making the connection. "Right. This should seem familiar to you. This is just a different version of New York City. However landmarks are landmarks and those must stay the same between worlds. Looks like this ride was productive. I could already tell you recognized some of the scenery during the drive, didn’t you?”

He nodded. He definitely had recognized many, although each of them seemed to have different different about them.

“Brooklyn Promenade,” the Uber driver stated.

“This is us!” Clary stated happily. As she tipped the driver, Alec had already unlocked the door to step out. Alec was almost sad to get out of the car so soon. He had been enjoying the ride and looking at the scenery.

Clary then stepped out of the car. She walked around to Alec, who was just standing around, not knowing what to do next.

“So, Magnus lives around here?” he stated.

“A few avenues down. We can walk from here,” she responded.

She hesitated just then, and then stuck out her hand to Alec. Alec just looked at it for one second, before taking it. She regarded him with a surprised but pleased look on her face. "Our Alec would never have taken my hand like that. Anyway I was going to say, I feel responsible for you right now, so we should try to stick together." She grinned at him. She liked _this_ Alec. It was also interesting to see how a friendship between her and her Alec could potentially be.

Alec smiled back at her. "You're not half bad yourself, Clary," he said. After all, she was trying to comfort him, even as he was in a strange land by himself.

"Well," Alec murmured. "We're definitely not in Kansas anymore, are we, Alec?" he mused almost inaudibly as they continued walking. That story was from one of his favorite compilations as a child; his grandmother had brought it home with her from some library one day. She had called it a history book of sorts. To him it had been a collection of adventures and dreams.

"Oh you've read that?" Clary's voice broke into his thoughts. He turned to her with a surprised look on his face. "Wizard of Oz," she said, the title rolling right off her tongue. "In the Mundane world, that's a very popular children's story. So is Alice in Wonderland --" Alec's eyes had brightened at the mention of that, as that had been the theme of his party -- "it also somewhat parallels what's happening here -- with you as Alice. I guess I would be the Cheshire Cat then as your guide. At your service." She then did an exaggerated bow, accompanied with her best impression of the Cat with a big toothy smile, before she burst into giggles. 

Alec had to smile at that. She was right.

"I do recognize the parallels,” he said. “I'll have to admit, I never really read the story of Alice in Wonderland. Someone gave me online images of the magical mirrors and tea party setups with the Queen of Hearts when I was asking for ideas on a party theme, and then I skimmed the story. It definitely looks like an extensive adventure." He made himself a mental note to read the story more in depth once he returned to his world.

"Your situation is _definitely_ more like the Wizard of Oz at this point, though," Clary stated. "We need to find the Wizard to find a way for you to get back home.” She laughed, “Magnus is most definitely the wizard in this story. But unlike Oz, he’s the genuine article, magic out the wazoo!”

Alec looked at her questioningly. “Sorry, it’s a Mundane expression I picked up,” she apologized.

“Maybe in the world _you_ inhabit,” Alec said under his breath, rolling his eyes.

“Hey! I heard that!” Clary stated good-naturedly, sticking out her tongue at him. “Ah, your eye-roll is the same as Alec’s. You two are probably more alike than you realize.”

She then squinted at him. “Although I'm thinking it's going to take a lot more than just clicking the heels of a pair of red glittery shoes together to get you home."

"That wouldn't work anyway. I left my pair at home," Alec said slowly. He looked at her with a straight face. The confused look on Clary’s face turned into a burst of giggles. Alec then started laughing also.

They reached the building of Magnus’s loft. It was impossibly tall and wide.

“Magnus lives here?” Alec asked, surprised, looking up. The building was quite impressive. He wondered if shy Magnus also lived in a loft building this gigantic. 

“Magnus not only lives here, he owns the entire building,” Clary stated nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.

“W-What?” Magnus was _that_ rich?

“Centuries, remember?” Clary stated. “Warlocks tend to accumulate riches over the years, especially when there are communities that require their services.”

“Ah, right,” Alec stated, recalling what his grandmother had told him. All members of the Shadow World owed a great gratitude and debt to Warlocks – whose magic had not only sheltered them from demons and other dangers, but had also served them well with spells and weapons in battle.

They both stepped into the elevator. The doors closed. Clary pressed the button to the penthouse.

“Of course,” Alec stated.

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet, the rooftop is amazing also,” Clary gushed.

Ding! The elevator reached the top. They both walked out, and then suddenly Clary’s arm shot out and caught a fire message. 

She scanned it quickly. “Pooh,” she said. “I’m needed back at the Institute. They are wondering where I am. Uh, you will need to do this on your own.” 

“Wait,” Alec stated, his mouth suddenly dry. “I can’t do this on my own. I’ve never even met –”

“I will be back after this, just tell Magnus everything. He’s great helping out those in need. Just be yourself. Besides, you already have an advantage working for you.” Clary suddenly grinned widely at the end of her sentence.

“Yea? What’s that?” Alec wondered.

“The situations between both worlds are quite similar. But it seems like the situations are reversed, in many ways. Feelings too,” Clary said. She sounded quite cryptic.

“Uh, okay,” Alec said. It sounded like a riddle.

Clary patted him on the head. Alec wrenched his head away. “Hey, my hair!” he protested.

Now it was Clary’s turn to roll her eyes.

“By the Angel,” she breathed. “You are worse than Magnus!”

She laughed heartily. “Anyway, you’re a smart boy. You will quickly figure out what I meant by the “reversed” comment. The feelings, or potential feelings, are definitely there.”

Giving in to impulse, she leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck, and I will see you in a bit, Alec.” She took out her stele, ran it over one of her runes, and jetted away in an instant.

He kept looking in the direction where Clary had suddenly run off. Then he swallowed hard, turned back to the door, and knocked.

“Enter,” a familiar, deep voice responded. The door creaked open.

Alec’s heart leapt into his throat. “Uh, okay,” he stated. 

He pushed the door open, and was instantly faced with the expansive views of a very luxurious loft. At the opposite end was the open French doors leading to a gorgeous looking balcony overlooking the city.

And there he was – the very elegant, lithe warlock.

The High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane. 

...who was totally _not_ wearing a shirt, his golden arm and ab muscles rippling. His hair – was magnificent, even more magnificent than Alec’s, spiked up into a coif, and adorned with gold glitter and magenta highlights. His luminous cat-shaped brown eyes were lined heavily with kohl eyeliner. And they were staring – at him, so intensely.

Alec shivered.

Glittery Magnus looked like he had just finished some sort of workout, since he was also dressed in black workout pants with a sliver of hot pink showing at his lower torso right above his pants. Was that his hot pink...underwear that was peeking out?

Alec’s brain short-circuited at that very moment.

“Uh, you are definitely not _my_ Alec. Who are you exactly?" he asked, his voice tinged with an edge of suspicion. Then his gaze intensified as he took in Alec’s features and his clothing. "But you look exactly like him on the outside..."

“You know, my wards let you in when they sensed you downstairs. But you were with someone else before, weren’t you? I think my wards recognized her. You have a slightly different signature than the Alec I know," Glittery Magnus stated slowly, his eyes never leaving Alec’s. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something start glowing by the warlock’s side. It was his hand, glowing a dynamic red fiery color Alec didn’t know much about magic and the various colors it took.

But red in general was never good, from what he knew.

He needed to say something – _quickly_.

"Well you are not the Magnus I know, that's for sure," Alec blurted out without thinking.

“Wait. You know another Magnus?” The red magic faded. Glittery Magnus raised one eyebrow, and pursed his lips. He tilted his head, still gazing at Alec. But more curiously now. 

For some reason Alec thought it was a devastating combination. "Long story," he managed to choke out. 

He and Glittery Magnus stared at each other silently for a few minutes. Glittery Magnus was so beautiful, and shiny, so obviously in his element in this world, that Alec was enthralled. The glittery warlock then slowly gave Alec a thorough once-over from head to toe -- Alec flushed as he recognized his own technique of checking people out. It made him flustered. Was that the effect he had on others whenever he checked them out?

Glittery Magnus grinned, which illuminated his features. Alec suddenly felt lightheaded. 

"Still hot as hell though. Yes, you," Glittery Magnus stated flirtatiously.

Alec saw his brown eyes twinkle. Ah, there's my Magnus, he thought idly. He dreamily pictured the shy guy with the twinkling eyes, whom he had run into at the party. The one who had surprised him with fencing moves, which had helped to slaughter an unexpected demon, the amazing body hidden underneath the nondescript clothing, along with the sudden reappearance of his magic which had revealed his golden cat eyes...

Speaking of which...

"Do you have them, too?" Alec blurted out before he realized what he was saying. "Those beautiful golden cat eyes?" 

Glittery Magnus grinned again, and flashed his eyes at him. They were even more radiant and magnificent in a world full of magic. They made him look ethereally beautiful, like some sort of celestial being. 

He was almost _too_ shiny.

Alec's mouth dropped open.

Glittery Magnus noticed Alec's very obvious reaction to him. Ooh, this could be fun, he thought, amused. 

Obviously the Alexander Lightwood of his world was sending mixed signals, and especially with that engagement of his to Lydia. However, he _definitely _had this Alec’s attention – singularly.

Alec averted his eyes. "Do you mind if you put those away for a moment?" he asked. "Those are a bit -- shiny." 

"Why, not at all," Glittery Magnus purred. He blinked, and the soft brown eyes were back -- just as soft and magnetic. "Perhaps they can come out to play, later, if you want. Just say the word, they are _yours_."

_As am I_, the unspoken words hung in the air.

Alec visibly trembled, not able to keep his eyes off the glittery persona who was threatening to undo him. _Oh my._ He could feel his heart beating a zillion beats per minute upon receiving this onslaught of innuendos from someone more masterful than him…

Ugh, this was the only being that could reduce the normally confident Alec Lightwood, party planner/security head, to this squirmy version of himself. Apparently this was the case – in both worlds… 

_Shit_.

"Hmm, so if you are going to be around for a while, we can't have both versions of you be Alexander/Alec, that would be way too confusing. Are there any other names you go by, handsome?" Glittery Magnus asked flirtatiously. Oh, yes, he was going to play with this for as long as he was allowed to.

The words barely registered as Alec found himself staring at his mouth. Everything he said was sooo magical. Was it due to the Shadow World? He wasn't entirely sure. His brain caught the tail end of Glittery Magnus’s words, and he heard himself say, "My friends used to call me Lex when I was younger."

"Hmm Lex, eh? Do you mind if we call you that while you are here?" Glittery Magnus asked. He winked.

_Oh man_, Lex thought dreamily.

_"_You can call me anything you want_, _darling_." _

Lex nearly jumped out of his own skin as he heard his own voice, flirty and confident, speak out. 

Had he spoken his thoughts aloud? He quickly glanced at Glittery Magnus, who in all his shiny glory, was now staring at him, with a look at awe in his brown eyes. Slowly a flush appeared on his luminous golden cheeks.

_Did I just put that there? _Lex wondered. His heart fluttered. He almost hoped that he had.

Glittery Magnus felt unsettled in a way he hadn't felt in a century. Lex just "darling"-ed him? Isn't that my line? he thought. 

For once, he was speechless. And an unfamiliar warm feeling started to form in the middle of his chest. A soft..._lovely_ feeling. A feeling... That someone _wanted_ him, thought he was _special_.

Maybe the potential was there with Alec Lightwood in his world, but he still remained a huge mystery. _This _Alec – now known as Lex - was like an open book. Perhaps it would not hurt to get to know him better.

The look of awe in Glittery Magnus's glamoured brown eyes --and was that _adoration_? -- made Lex's heart skip an extra beat. 

"Come along then," Glittery Magnus said in a dulcet voice. "Ale -- oh right, Lex, is it? I think I want to keep you to myself for a little bit. Let’s chat for a bit. Drinks?"

Glittery Magnus turned and walked into the next room. No, Lex corrected himself, Glittery Magnus _breezed _into the next room -- that's how graceful his moves were.

Lex gulped. He felt powerless to resist this amazing being with such a commanding presence. He also realized that he felt safe being with him. Yes, this will certainly do nicely. At least for now, until he figured out what was happening, and how he was going to get home.

Dutifully Lex followed Glittery Magnus into the next room.

Glittery Magnus’s eyes were on him, once again. “Hmm I better get into something more suitable for the company at present,” he stated. With a flick of his wrist, he was suddenly wearing a fitted black blazer with tight leather pants.

Lex was almost disappointed that the golden muscles were now gone from sight. But he still looked amazing in his ensemble. Then again, would Glittery Magnus ever look dull or disappointing in anything? He didn’t think so.

“After all,” he heard Glittery Magnus continue, as he stepped to his bar cart to start mixing drinks, “The situation was a bit unequal between us. It was either that I dressed up, or I somehow got you to take off your shirt.” 

Lex jumped slightly upon hearing that. _Ohhhh…_He suddenly forgot how to breathe.  
  


“Obviously I wouldn’t have minded that,” Glittery Magnus said, clucking his tongue as he looked at Lex lasciviously. “But it didn’t seem appropriate, since we just met. Certain things are worth waiting for, don’t you agree?”

“W-What?” Lex had completely spaced out while Glittery Magnus was talking. He couldn’t stop _looking _at his mouth…

Glittery Magnus chuckled, “Oh, you are such a darling,” he stated endearingly.

”Um, sure,” Lex continued, attempting to remain poised.

He flushed. He knew he was being anything but poised, right now. Too many emotions were flooding through him.

“A book about different dimensions,” Glittery Magnus was suddenly in front of him, holding a book in front of his face. Blankly, he stared at it. “I thought we could look through it together, while you’re here.” 

Glittery Magnus’s brown eyes were warm, with a look of concern, as he looked at Lex. “That is where you are from right? An alternate dimension?”

“Why yes,” Lex stated, having regained his powers of speech. Then he thought of something.

“The book is a great idea, darling,” he stated warmly, earning yet again a twinkle from Glittery Magnus’s eyes.

“However, you got me curious. What can you tell me about my counterpart, Alec Lightwood? And…is he really engaged to be married?”

Glittery Magnus sighed, the smile in his eyes and mouth both disappearing simultaneously. Ugh, Lex thought. I caused that. 

He felt terrible. 

He must have made a facial expression signifying how badly he felt, because Glittery Magnus suddenly perked up. “No, no, it definitely wasn’t you, Lex. Things are just….complicated,” Glittery Magnus stated. 

“Hmm, I’m going to need something stronger than this martini, if we are going to talk about all of that,” Glittery Magnus stated. “Anything in particular? I’m having –”

“Scotch,” they both somehow said in unison. And just stared at one another.

“Okay, that was just a little creepy,” Glittery Magnus stated.

Lex threw his head back and laughed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw Inverted Alec is now known as LEX.
> 
> Chapter 3 to follow


	3. Gold or Silver? Try One On For Feels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the Inverted World, magic is slowly coming back to Magnus and his surroundings.
> 
> He finally gets to chase after his Alec...but then inadvertently runs into the other Alec.
> 
> Hmm...

_Back in Inverted World, a few hours after Clary and Lex had fallen through the portal_

Magnus had meant to stay in the basement at the Institute to wait for his magic to recharge and go after Alec. 

He really, really had meant to do so.

But instead he had left the Institute party, slowly walking home, after admitting to himself that he was exhausted after creating that portal back to the Shadow World. Also, he had needed to go home anyway; it was nearly time to feed his cats, Chairman Meow and Church.

The events of the afternoon still played out freshly in his head, but it was way too much to focus on right now. He also felt guilt that he couldn’t go after Alec right away. But he really was tired.

At this moment, he only possessed enough brainpower to perform something on autopilot, something so routine such as feeding his cats. 

Meanwhile, his mind was only all too happy to keep playing back the events of the afternoon over and over again like a continuous loop. 

His hand flew to his lips, as he smiled.

Alec had kissed him. A tingly sensation overwhelmed him as he thought about him.

Perfect, exquisite, squeaky-when-nervous Alec Lightwood.

Alec, who had seemed to accept his warlock and magical background -- not to mention he had called his cat eyes "beautiful" -- Magnus had to virtually pinch himself to make sure Alec had not been something he had dreamed up.

However, he might as well have been from a dream -- in fact he was no longer even in this world at the moment.

Magnus wasn't sure where Alec was...or even who he was, currently. He wondered if Alec had gone ahead and inhabited the body of Alec Lightwood in the Shadow World -- like how Clary had done with her alternate self in his world.

He blushed shyly upon thinking about Alec. He hadn't been kissed in quite that way in years.

Even with his ex Camille, things had gotten routine after only a few years together. That was even before he had found out she was cheating on him with one of the diplomats they had met at one of the many functions they had crashed together, pretending to be a couple from old money...

Ugh, he shook his head, ridding himself of old memories. The relationship with Camille had ended poorly, he didn't need to be filling his head with those. Those were fun times but empty. He soon realized he would rather be alone than be with someone toxic like that.

He had reached the door to his loft, fishing in his pockets for his key. But for some reason the key wasn't anywhere to be found.

At that moment, his gaze fell upon the fabric of his pants, which was a glossy dark blue. Oh Lilith, he cursed inwardly. Had he magicked away his key when carelessly changing his entire outfit and look with his newfound magic? So dumb, Magnus, he scolded himself. Sighing in frustration, he leaned against his door, trying to gather his bearings so he could figure out what to do.

*Click*

He nearly fell through the door of the loft, which had somehow creaked opened when he had leaned on it. Looking at the door in surprise, he noticed some remnants of blue wisps in the air. Ah, his magic. So did this mean he no longer needed his keys to open the door to his loft? 

Hmm, that would certainly prove useful, he mused. But, just in case, he still needed to locate his keys.

“Rowr?”

Now, how did that come out sounding like a question? He shook his head, he must have imagined it. Cats did not sound questioning when they meowed. He turned suddenly and was faced with two pairs of cat eyes – both looking apprehensively at him. The cats’ backs were arched as if they were distrustful of him. Uh, this was new…

“Uh, Chairman Meow? Church? What’s wrong?” he asked curiously. 

He cautiously took a step toward them while raising one hand.

Almost simultaneously, one ball of fur jetted into the far corner, away from him. The other, well, suddenly Magnus suddenly saw a dark shape hurtling toward him, with sharp canines visible – Church, the damn demon, had chosen to attack, _targeting the jugular_! 

His claws sunk into Magnus's chest. Magnus, completely unprepared for that, shrieked.

_“Lillith!!!!”_

Magnus stumbled backwards clumsily, Church still clinging onto him. He brought his hands to his chest, trying to wrench Church off him. 

But the tingling had started once again…

Suddenly, Church was off his face, having voluntarily jumped off, and was now sitting in front of him. The other cat, Chairman Meow, had also come out from the corner as well. Now both cats were sitting in front of him – dutifully.

Wait, dutifully? Demons aren’t dutiful, Magnus thought, narrowing his eyes.

It’s about freaking time that your magic came back. Do you know how frustrating it was, not being able to communicate with you? a voice suddenly said.

What? Magnus nearly jumped in the air. Who was talking to him?

_Down here, scaredy cat_.

…Oh, and sorry about jumping on you. We didn’t recognize you with the new getup. You actually look like you possess some taste for once, for the first time in millenia, instead of looking like a grandpa. Also, did you finally get laid? There’s someone else’s scent on you. It’s certainly been long enough, hasn’t it? Guess he or she didn’t mind the cobwebs, eh?

“Um, excuse me?” Was he just given an apology, and then _insulted_ thousand fold in the same sentence?

Magnus looked down. Only the cats were sitting there, nothing else.

“Ch-Church?” he ventured uncertainly. But this was crazy, right? Cats don’t talk…

“Hm.” The gray Persian seemed to be giving him an ultra-bored look as he paused to lick at his paws. Magnus watched Church give him what was probably the first noticeable eye-roll from a cat.

“Did you just eye-roll me?” Magnus demanded. 

Church sniffed, as if to indicate whatever Magnus was saying held no importance to him.

“Are you standing here actually talking to a cat? What kind of warlock are you?” Church hissed.

“Well you’re the one acting like an entitled little shit,” Magnus hissed back.

Church’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he slowly sauntered over toward Magnus. 

Lillith, Magnus thought, freezing in place. The demon’s going to get me! He regretted overreacting at that very moment. What was the cat going to do???

Church was suddenly at his legs, and – purring? He then rubbed his body against Magnus’s legs as he lay down at his feet. “It’s about time you showed us who was boss. We have both been acting out to get your attention for years.”

“What?” Magnus stated, irritated. His voice had risen louder. “You were acting like a damn demon -- just to get my attention? I thought you guys were trying to kill me!”

Church had a weird look on his face. If Magnus was not mistaken, it nearly looked like the cat was smiling. “Well, the thought did cross our minds…”

Magnus narrowed his eyes at both cats – who suddenly looked angelic.

“Who, me?” their expressions seemed to say.

But Magnus knew better.

_Fuck. _

*************************  
Magnus did manage to find his keys, after all.

Not only had he found his keys, he had also found the grey suit he had worn to the party. Everything had been neatly hung in his closet, freshly pressed.

Fascinating, Magnus thought.

He had almost forgotten how convenient life was when magic was involved.

Also, he had managed to have a civil conversation with his cats about the house rules, and agreed on new rules to be set – which included no plotting to kill Magnus while in his sleep. Church had actually balked at that one, but Magnus had insisted. Church had then sighed in annoyance, acknowledging defeat.

He then had managed to have a little nap, restful and exquisite – without worrying about the cats. Upon waking up, he had found both of them curled up at the foot of his bed on his silk sheets. 

Perhaps this was a new happy medium he could live with, after all.

He got out of bed, mind clear, and a mission renewed. 

It was time to head to the Institute and see what could be done with the portal.

*********************

_Back in the basement of the Institute, later that evening_

Magnus just stared blankly at the wall, which had been the site for the portal that had sent Clary and Alec hurtling into the Shadow World. Please let this work, Magnus prayed, as he moved his hands in a clockwise fashion a few inches away from the wall. Hmm…barely a flicker. What? It worked before!

Magnus furrowed his brows in frustration. 

Why wasn’t it glowing?

Then a memory of Shadow World Clary making that ridiculous gesture with her hands -- courtesy of his Shadow World counterpart -- came to him. Hmm, that wouldn't --

Taking a deep breath, he shimmied his body and his hands and arms undulated gracefully as if in a dance. Hmm, he hadn't realized how graceful he could be. Well, actually, that wasn't totally correct -- in his fencing days way back when, he definitely had known how to utilize a foil quite effectively with the light as air footwork to match...

BAM! The portal appeared so suddenly, and with such presence, that Magnus fell backward. Ugh, he thought, I need to be better about these things. What would people think if they saw a warlock being this clumsy? 

He narrowed his eyes as if annoyed at himself, then sighed.

He looked more closely at the portal, glowing and dynamic, as if it were alive. This one looked different than the one he had conjured to send Clary back. It looked more advanced, it looked even more fluid and dynamic...if one could use such a description for the appearance of a portal.

Okay, so now what?

He wasn’t sure where he was portalling to. Wasn’t there some rule about needing to know one’s destination, or else the portalling might be at random? He was definitely taking a huge risk there. One could only hope that he would end up in the place he wanted…

Ah, well, he had promised himself that he would go after Alec.

Crossing his fingers, he stepped through...

A portal suddenly opened up, just in front of the Shadow World cemetery, located in the back of the New York Institute. Magnus stumbled out, holding his stomach. He gagged, then _**tripped**_ badly over his own feet. He had forgotten how nasty portal travel could be...

... And he _crashed_ into _something_.

No. It was... _**someone**_**. **

They both _fell_ onto the ground with an unceremonious _thud. _

_How embarrassing, _Magnus thought, his cheeks flushing.

"M-M-Magnus?" he heard a familiar voice ask hesitantly. But the voice also sounded very different at the same time.

Magnus lifted his head, and his eyes almost bugged out of his sockets.

“Alexander?” But here was a version with unruly dark hair, giving him a more edgy, dangerous look. He was also wearing a black tank top, fitted, and you could see muscles galore...

Ah, right, the Alec Lightwood of this world.

But what really drew Magnus's attention was the giant rune on the side of his neck. Wow, he hadn't seen one of those on someone in a really long time. 

And... he had forgotten how _hot_ they looked. He had always had a weakness for tattoos or runes. 

He was unable to look away. _Damn._ that just upped this guy's hotness factor a zillion percent...

He admitted he had been curious to see if Alec had, indeed, inhabited his counterpart in the Shadow World. But it certainly seemed like he had not needed to worry about it.

This could only be Alec Lightwood of the Shadow World. No one else, not even possessed by anyone else. The lack of recognition in his eyes said it all.

"Hmm. Definitely _not_ Alec from the Alice in Wonderland party," Magnus murmured.

Alec looked at him, equally shocked. "Alice what?" He looked confused. Then his eyes suddenly focused intensely upon Magnus– and damn if it wasn’t just as intense as party planner Alec’s gaze...

Different, but just as lethal.

Magnus gulped.

"So, you look like Magnus, albeit a more reserved looking Magnus. Yet you definitely aren’t him, either,” Alec finally said. Somehow Alec couldn’t look away.

He finally leaned in a bit more closely and peered closely at Magnus's face.

Magnus’s breath hitched. 

"Hmm the dark blue works with you, especially with the hair. It’s a neat style," he said slowly, in a guarded voice, half-heartedly as if talking to himself. Then his mouth broke into a half smile.

Alec continued to look at this version of Magnus, who definitely looked like his Magnus -- but who obviously wasn't. This one seemed so down to earth, and definitely more approachable. Yet still had the extras that made him so attractive.

He missed him, he realized. He missed his Magnus.

Ever since Izzy's trial, he had not seen or heard from him. Ever since he had announced his engagement to Lydia, it had seemed that Magnus had decided just to stay scarce, and actually Alec had felt a gigantic void in his life since then. He had not wanted to admit it at the time. He missed everything about him. His calls, being able to talk to him.

Magnus had made everything seem so easy, being flirty and forward. Now, his absence was truly glaring, and somehow it was affecting Alec terribly.

Before Alec knew what was happening, he had lifted up his head while lightly touching a lock of Magnus’s hair which had come loose from the hairstyle and fallen across his cheek. The pads of his fingers had inadvertently brushed Magnus’s skin as well. 

Alec almost flinched from the spark caused by the contact. 

Magnus’s heart nearly stopped as burning fingers brushed his hair and cheek. Was Alec touching _his _hair and face?! And now his face was closer, his hazel eyes no less devastating than his counterpart’s back in his world. Egad...

Their eyes met. Neither looked away.

Alec still hadn’t removed his fingers from his face.

His brain short circuited.

_Omg both Alexanders were equally devastating in their own ways... This one was not as practiced or flirty, but his absolute innocence and openness were just as potent..._

_Both Alexanders...What a menace..._

_"_Well, this is awkward. Fraternizing much? Aren’t you afraid of tarnishing your family’s precious reputation?"

They both froze at the too-familiar sounding salty tone of voice.

Alec withdrew his hand from Magnus’s face.

They both slowly looked up simultaneously to see Lex and a very glittery Magnus, arms linked together, both giving them hard stares as they looked down at them. Glittery Magnus was definitely not happy, personally glaring daggers. Then his attention turned to who was next to him, and then that expression turned to confusion once he saw who it was. 

So that's what I sound like when I'm being bitchy? Magnus thought idly. Egad – I sound _scary_.

“Ah, it’s my counterpart, from your world. Isn’t that right, Lex?”

Lex? Magnus thought, confused. “Alexander?” he ventured tentatively, looking at Lex. 

Lex shrugged. “Yea, I'm **Lex **from now on**. **Easier to tell us apart, _**Mags**_.” His voice sounded guarded, and tense.

Mags? Mags thought. He’d never had a nickname before. Hmm, perhaps that would be best that everyone called him Mags in this world, so no one ended up confused with this world's Magnus -- the shiny, glittery Magnus. Everything he was _not_.

Alec cleared his throat, startling Mags, who was still on the ground next to him. Obviously, they were no longer alone... And wtf, there was a double of him, too? Albeit a more flamboyant --and most likely openly gay version, who called himself Lex.

Or rather, his Magnus was calling _him_ Lex. Was that some pet name or something? Alec found that he did not like that very much at all.

Lex raised his eyebrows upon scrutinizing Mags more closely. 

Mags flushed, as Lex’s eyes roved over his body, lingering a bit longer than normal. 

_Oh right, the new look_, Mags thought, flushing. _This was supposed to be for you, _he wanted to say.

It didn’t look good that he and Alec were both still on the ground, tangled after he had fallen on him. He saw Magnus’s eyes travel over him a bit suspiciously as well -- his cat eyes out and flashing.

It wasn't a happy expression, by any means.

"Got all done up for me?" Lex couldn't help saying pointedly to Mags, using hand gestures to indicate Mags’s entire body. "Or was it for _him_? Or should I say Alter-Me? Finally, we meet...I guess. Charmed," he said, attempting to sound polite and congenial, as party planner Alec would sound. But it didn’t work this time; this time the greeting came out slightly frosty. It even surprised himself as he heard himself speak; usually he was more in control of his emotions and demeanor. But he had failed this time.

Lex had never sounded this cold to anyone before.

Mags looked down, unable to meet Lex’s eyes. He had seen the tinge of hurt lurking within them. 

The two boys – Alec and Lex -- were definitely not taking to one another well. Alec quickly got to his feet, flustered. Lex glared at him as if sizing him up, before his mouth twisted into a half smirk.

Then his eyes fell on Mags, who was watching the both of them.

He noticed something that was very annoying to him. 

"Uh, Mags, his eyes are up there -- not on his neck or his chest," Lex drawled in a low tone of voice, roughened with annoyance.

Hmm so Mags had a thing for tattoos eh? It seemed very much so, as Mags hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the Shadowhunter since they had accidentally found them.

Mags muttered something like, "S-sorry Alec…er, I mean, Lex," with eyes downcast, his cheeks pink. Ugh, still so not used to that name. This made the divide between them seem all that much wider, now – especially with the unfamiliar names.

Lex softened upon hearing Mags speak. Aww, he looked so apologetic, he thought.

Speaking of which, what _exactly_ had been going on --? He recalled the situation at the Institute party, where he and Jace had both found Mags and Clary together. That had totally been innocent.

Would it be presumptuous to assume that this was the same? How he wished both situations were the same.

However, he already knew that they weren’t.

Lex already sensed the attraction between Mags and Alec. It was low-key, given the personalities of each individual, but it was definitely there. It was clear just from what he and Magnus had walked into before. They had caught that look between them. 

That's what made this situation so _delicate. _

Lex was bummed. He and Mags had barely established what they were to one another in general… then he had to fall through that portal.

Now it seemed that there was competition ... 

And even worse, that competition was a version of himself!

If only Mags's eyes wouldn't keep going to Alec's neck and torso, blatantly staring at the tattoos. It was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. And wistful....

"Well, this is certainly scintillating," Magnus suddenly stated in a sardonic tone. "But I've got potions to create, and a party to go to. I’ll need time to get ready for that. In fact, we _both _will need to get ready for that. You're coming, right darling?" He directed his gaze toward Lex, appraising him. He could already picture him in some fabulous outfit. With those looks and that kickass personality to boot, Lex was going to look _delicious_. Maybe they should wear matching or complementary outfits. Anyway, he couldn’t wait until later tonight. 

Magnus grinned and threw a flirtatious wink at Lex.

Mags narrowed his eyes. Was Magnus deliberately pouring the sugar on thick with Lex due to this awkward situation? 

Mags winced, feeling the pain of jealousy shoot through his heart as he saw Lex’s eyes light up at the 'darling' and the seductive look. Meanwhile, Magnus had already shifted his gaze to Alec, watching his reaction intently.

Alec had never seen Magnus look so cold toward him, so devoid of any emotion or caring.

He winced. 

Magnus noted that a flash of something_ pained_ – jealousy? – flashed through Alec’s eyes. Then a look of resignation passed over his face. Magnus felt bad for him then. But just as quickly the feeling passed.

Magnus straightened his shoulders and pressed his lips together, presenting an unreadable front. Alec had lost the right to affect him, when he had announced his engagement to Lydia weeks ago.

"Yes, I’m most definitely coming,” Lex said with certainty. 

He walked over to Magnus, still feeling his intense gaze upon him. It was so magnetic, pulling him easily into his orbit. It was a look for him, and only him, he noted with satisfaction.

Things should be this easy, he thought. Not difficult. 

Apparently, Magnus must have felt the same, as he had not even given Alec the time of day since Lex had shown up at the loft the other day.

Feeling a new burst of confidence and surge of appreciation for Magnus, Lex leaned in and gave Magnus a lingering kiss on the cheek near the mouth. A semi-strong wave of energy suddenly bounced off his neck – it had almost felt like shock. Lex forced himself not to react or to turn back to look. Somehow, he was almost certain that had come from Mags.

Magnus threw up a portal and indicated that he was going to go. He walked toward it without even a look back at Alec. 

Alec just stared at his retreating back, with what might have passed for regret on his face. 

Lex finally turned to face Mags, a look of hurt still evident in his eyes. Once again, he took in the wavy dark blue highlighted hair, the dark blue lined eyes, and blue suit. So hot, he thought. 

But alas…

  
He shook his head. "Well, the new look really does suit you, but you looked great before without it," he stated. 

Steeling himself, he added, somewhat haughtily, “When you get bored of playing with the dull copy, you know where to find me.” 

Ignoring the sad, pleading look in Mags's eyes, he stepped into the portal after Magnus. 

This left Mags and Alec both staring as the portal slowly dissolved into thin air. An uneasy silence developed between them, as both men were lost in their own thoughts, attempting to reconcile what had just occurred in front of them.

Mags, still reeling at how Lex had responded to him, found himself now thinking about Magnus’s reaction to Alec. It had been cold and distant. But he knew that look in his eyes, almost as well as he knew himself. There was deep hurt and disappointment there. 

He realized that Magnus truly _liked_ Alec – it wasn’t just infatuation; it ran deeper than that.

Meanwhile, Alec’s heart had been slammed by Magnus’s cold reaction toward him. He had not been too happy with Lex insulting him either. But somehow that wasn’t what occupied his thoughts at the moment. 

For some reason, he was concerned for Mags, as he had seen Lex’s retort practically deflate Mags right in front of his eyes. 

That’s so mean, Alec thought. He was so annoyed with Lex right now. Mags seemed so kind and genuine – he didn’t deserve that in the least. His eyes just looked so sad now. 

Alec was not normally astute when it came to feelings and emotions, but suddenly a light bulb went on inside his head. It was clear why Lex had acted and said the things that he did -- Lex had insulted Alec, basically a version of himself, because he had been jealous of seeing Alec and Mags together. 

Lex had a thing for Mags! But did Mags realize this?

How did Alec not see this earlier??

Both Alec and Mags turned to one another and opened their mouths to speak, almost simultaneously.

“Um, I think Lex is jealous,” Alec blurted out.

“Um, I think Magnus is pissed off at you,” Mags stated. “What did you do?”

They both stared at each other, speechless – the tension in the air ripe with their own guilt and confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex = inv-Alec  
Mags = inv-Magnus
> 
> Shadow counterparts as is.
> 
> Oh boy, that's drama for you, eh? Where will our boys be at next? Stay tuned for Chapter 4!


	4. Topsy Turvy: A Very Confusing Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabelle goes to Pandemonium for a needed night off. Never did she think she'd run into -- not just one hot mess of a situation, but two! And not to mention meeting two versions of Magnus and her big brother!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex = inv Alec  
Mags = inv Magnus
> 
> Shadow counterparts as is.
> 
> All scenes from this chapter and on occur in the Shadow World.

Isabelle Lightwood loved clubbing.

The bigger, the wilder, the better -- especially since this attracted demons and all otherworldly types like a freaking magnet.

With her lightning fast snake whip, she was an ace with snapping the necks of unsuspecting demons as they attempted to pose as Downworlders or even Mundanes.

And of course, she adored the music and the vibe of clubbing. She loved being able to wear whatever she wanted, or to do her hair differently.

It was a chance to be someone different; someone other than a Shadowhunter with nearly impossible ideals to live up to.

Looking up at the neon lights of the club sign for Pandemonium, she smiled. She felt right at home. She had off for the next two days – a rare feat, as Shadowhunters normally did not even recognize the concept of quality time or the need to take a mental health day. But she was Isabelle Lightwood and not like other Shadowhunters who were soldiers, plain and simple. 

Besides, she had already gotten ahead of herself and did her part in projects and research and passed them onto others for evaluation and tinkering – thus she was _good_. And she was going to enjoy herself. 

Her adrenaline was also sky high at the moment, as was her mood, even though it was now two in the morning, and she was going to dance her mad energy off.

Meliorn, her current Seelie lover, had said he might or might not show up – which was cool. If he did, then the night would be great. And if not, she would still enjoy herself. She did enjoy their times together, but they had both agreed that it was to be casual. So far that had been working splendidly. Isabelle enjoyed her freedom to do whatever she pleased.

Grinning, she threw a flirty wink at the bouncer, who basically just motioned her in while his eyes roved over every curve of her body, clad in a too short red bodycon dress that looked almost vinyl, and her signature thigh high boots.

She had been a regular at Pandemonium for a very long time, which was frequented by Downworlders due to the owner being a warlock.

Up until that mission a few months ago, she had not even known the name of the elusive owner with the crazy hell-on-wheels reputation.

But now she knew. 

Pandemonium's owner was Magnus Bane. 

Glittery warlock with a dangerous edge, centuries of strategy and experience, with an ostentatious ego to match. One of the most powerful warlocks to exist. And one of the most fun.

The fact that he was the High Warlock of Brooklyn did create an intimidating air about him for many upon first meeting him. But it was all a cover, and beneath that, he had personality, charm, and ego in abundance.

Isabelle had never met anyone quite like Magnus Bane. 

He was essentially a male version of herself -- bright, cunning, beautiful, great taste in fashion, and a kickass sense of (flirtatious) humor.

Magnus was also extremely charming -- he had been able to charm her brother, the very elusive Alec Lightwood. Who could be such a dummy at times, especially with his needing to follow the letter of the law, and to listen to his parents dictate his life. 

The Lightwoods needed to restore their past reputation. So it was down to the children to achieve this. 

Isabelle thought their parents were going to arrange a marriage for Alec. 

However, she still thought that they could get away with doing whatever they wanted. After all, there was no way Alec could marry. It was evident that he liked Magnus Bane, but he was still closeted, due to the Clave looking down on Shadowhunters with sexual orientations other than what was deemed typical – basically heterosexual.

So what was Alec's solution to his parents possibly setting him up in an arranged marriage situation? He went and proposed to the current Clave envoy, Lydia Branwell -- who he barely even knew, but she wanted to run an Institute, and that was his dream too -- 

That, in his mind, had been enough to justify a proposal on his part...

Isabelle had just shaken her head in disgust when Alec announced his engagement. "It's your life," she had groused, as she had turned on her heel and walked away.

But she did care. He was throwing his life away, and she had a front row seat.

All she knew was that her brother should _not _be marrying.

What he needed to do was to get his shit together and get with Magnus. 

_\-- who clearly adored him, doted on him, flirted with him like nobody's business, grinded up on him as they danced..._

_Wait, what??!_

Perhaps she had mistaken the guy for her brother ---

But that was definitely Magnus Bane in the far corner of the dance floor, in VIP -- dancing on a podium -- his elegant fingers on Alec's hips as his body swayed and undulated, grinding directly into the back of her brother -- who was allowing Magnus to do this to him _voluntarily_, with a huge grin matching that of Magnus’s. Even from where she stood, she could see the joy radiating from him – from dancing itself – along with being the subject of Magnus’s affections.

That had been the first thing _off_ about the situation.

Secondly, the outfits they were wearing -- they were _matching,_ and totally a 180 of something Alec would wear.

Alec usually preferred to dress in black, and was extremely conservative.

Both men on the podium were wearing these glittery jumpsuits -- Magnus in all silver, while Alec's was in gold, clinging to them like a second skin, while a dusting of glitter along their right cheekbone, and extending into their extremely well-styled hair. With the eye makeup to match...

Isabelle stared for another full minute.

Just then Magnus leaned in as if to say something to Alec, and Alec threw back his head and laughed.

Isabelle’s eyes were bugging.

Was her brother actually having more fun than she was tonight?

_Oh no no no – she couldn’t have that, could she?_

She needed to get to the bottom of this! Straightening her posture, she took a deep breath and started walking toward them.

As she ventured closer, she became acutely aware of something.

Wait, she realized, _that was not Alec!_

She looked at the guy carefully. Well, he looked _exactly _like Alec. 

But somehow, that was _not_ Alec. 

The vibe this guy was giving off, it was definitely _not_ Alec.

“Magnus!” she demanded, as soon as she was within earshot. “I need to talk to you!”

Upon recognizing her, Magnus brightened. “Isabelle! Darling!” he said affectionately. “Well I need to talk to you too. You will never guess –”

“Uh, I think I pretty much figured it out,” Isabelle said dryly, putting her hands on her hips. She gestured toward the Alec look-a-like. “Is _he_ the thing you needed to talk to me about?”

Their exchange had caught Lex’s attention, and he stopped dancing, his eyes going to Isabelle. 

His eyes widened as he surveyed her from head to toe, taking in her red vinyl-looking mini bodycon dress, black thigh-high boots, the makeup on her face, and the low neckline. Along with all the runes…just like his alter-ego. He wrinkled his nose upon thinking of him…that…

But just as quickly, that image left his mind, as the visual of his own sister from back home flashed in his mind -- the cute, sweet, supersmart girl with braids, glasses, a cheeky sense of humor…

And who _usually_ wore a T-Shirt and jeans – 

_His cheerful, innocent baby sister!_

No, no, no, Lex thought incredulously, protective big brother mode going into effect. This would never do! Holy hell, what is she wearing??! Or rather, what was she not wearing. That was way too much skin!

“Darling!” he hissed at Magnus. 

Magnus leaned in. “What is it?” he asked curiously.

“Quick, summon me a cover!” he hissed. 

Magnus looked at him in confusion. “A cover?” he asked, blinking.

“Yes, give me something. Look at her!” Lex hissed, trying to gesture at Isabelle without being noticed. 

Meanwhile, Isabelle was looking from one to the other, increasing confusion coloring her features. It was so surreal how this guy totally looked like Alec…but his style of talking sounded like – Magnus? How weird! she thought.

Suddenly her visual field was blocked, as something large flew over her head – she found herself engulfed by said object from head to toe. “By the Angel, what the hell?!!” she screeched, indignantly. Instinctively, she started to pummel her fists and kick, trying to get this smothering thing off of her.

She could hear the two exchanging words.

“Boy, she cusses like a sailor,” Lex said dryly. “Totally _not _my sister…”

“That’s because she’s not,” Magnus retorted. “Your sister is back in your world. This is this world’s Isabelle Lightwood.”

“Sorry, but she looks like my sister _enough_, it’s triggering!” Lex whined. “And what’s with the huge blanket? I said a cover – I thought you would give me a scarf or a coat or something!”

Magnus shrugged. “I didn’t know what you meant. I don’t see anything wrong with what she’s wearing. That’s just how Isabelle dresses,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s the best I could do on short notice.”

“What??!” Lex shrieked. “_My sister_ dresses like this on a daily basis?”

“Oh my, are you okay? You look like you’re about to faint!” Magnus observed.

Lex glared at him. God, he thought wryly. Mags would have gotten the message about being protective, and about the cover – he was sure of it!

He suddenly felt a twinge in his heart.

Oh Mags, he thought, feeling wistful. Then as soon as the feeling came, he squashed it. No, he told himself, Mags chose Mr. Bedhead to play with right now, didn’t he? Actually maybe Lex hadn’t known him at all –

Just then, Isabelle’s head emerged from the blanket which had enveloped her. Lex’s eyes bugged out again, and he jumped down from the podium, wrapping both arms around her to keep the blanket in place.

“_Excuse me_, young lady,” Lex said sternly, “Why are you dressed –”

“Excuse me? Excuse _you_!” Isabelle yelled angrily, pushing him away. “Who the hell are you to tell me what to do. You aren’t even my brother!”

“Perhaps not in this universe, but you are still my sister in MY universe!” Lex said stubbornly, with a defiant expression on his face. “Don’t tell me your version of myself allows you to go out looking like this! You practically have nothing on that’s decent!”

“I certainly don’t mind it. Isabelle is an independent woman, she does what she wants. Besides I think she has great taste,” Magnus said offhandedly. 

He had stood back from the two, arms folded, and now enjoying the drama unfold before him, a smirk playing around his lips.

Lex whirled around to face him. “You’re not helping!” he whined again.

Magnus shrugged.

“I’m sorry, darling,” he said in a dulcet voice. He was being sincere about it. He smiled as Lex’s eyes seemed to glaze over, and his mouth curled into a soft smile.

Shaking his head, he turned back to Isabelle, who had completely shaken off the blanket, and was glaring at him, hands clenched into fists.

Lex cowered under her glare. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, looking down. “It was for your own good.”

Isabelle stared at him for a moment.

Suddenly she was bored of this current conversation. Lex was obviously not aware of how things were in this dimension. He was of no use to her right now.

She turned to face Magnus.

"Do you know where my brother is?" she asked impatiently, hands on her hips. Usually she found Magnus's antics to be hilarious, as well as charming. But today she found that she had less tolerance for it.

So he had just tossed her big brother aside? For this guy?

She was miffed at him... But her curiosity had won out over her annoyance, as she knew Magnus would normally be doing whatever he could to be close to Alec. However, what she had seen just now showed the complete opposite. 

What had changed in the past few days?

Ah, the engagement, she thought. 

She winced as she recalled Alec first telling them that he was engaged to Lydia Branwell. Isabelle had wanted to scream. When he had recoiled and stormed off after she had told him of their parents plans to salvage the Lightwood name -- mainly that they would most likely make him marry -- the last thing she had expected him to do was to propose to the austere, no-nonsense envoy to the Clave. 

True, their union would certainly strengthen the name --and allow Alec as well as Lydia to run the New York institute together... But Lydia was hardly the one she would have picked for him. Not to mention that this move probably broke Magnus's heart.

Which would explain his behavior today, wouldn't it?

It certainly would, she realized with a degree of certainty.

Magnus had yet to respond to her.

"Magnus," she said, now gently.

Magnus pretended to pick at his nails as he averted his eyes. This was a look he had perfected when dealing with people without revealing his emotions. For those that didn't know him, they would think he was fine. But Isabelle knew differently. Despite all the drama with her brother, she had gotten closer to Magnus during these past few months. 

Well, at least she thought she had. 

Magnus, with his heavily made up eyes and glitter in his hair, was not saying a word or looking her in the eye. 

"Darling," a familiar, yet not so familiar voice said.

Isabelle's eyes narrowed. 

Lex had come back, and was standing next to Magnus, one hand on his forearm. Magnus now looked down at his hand, and then he lifted his eyes to Lex.

"Aren’t you friends with her, Magnus? Shouldn’t you help her out?" Lex asked in a dulcet voice. He pouted, and Isabelle nearly choked. 

Sooo definitely _not_ her brother.

This was too surreal, even for her.

"Oh, don’t pout at me. All right, all right," Magnus said crossly. At that, Lex beamed, and kissed him on the cheek. Despite himself, Magnus’s mouth twisted into a half smile.

"Although the last person I really wanted to think of right now, was _him.._ After all, he made his choice clear, didn’t he? I mean, it’s really not all that hard to figure out where he is, right? Either he’s prancing around with his oh so adorable fiancée... But, oh right! Now he has option number 2 -- he's galivanting with that other world version of me ---"

"What?! There’s another version of you too?" Isabelle exclaimed. Now this was getting way too weird. 

And did she just see a wistful look cross Lex's face? At that moment, she had glimpsed a bit of her brother in him -- that look Alec would get when he was resigned to not being able to have what he wanted...

But that moment passed, and the aloof expression came back on Lex's face. He was identical to her brother, but was putting up a detached persona...

"For some reason, he -- Mags -- decided to come also, after Lex accidentally got pulled in by Clary," Magnus sniffed. "You know, I might have gone out of my way to help him out. But yeah, he was certainly preoccupied, wasn't he, Lex?"

"Oh yea, he was certainly fascinated by his runes alright," muttered Lex. He looked away.

Now Magnus was looking directly at Isabelle.

“Yea, you’d recognize him – well he only has a passing resemblance to me. Couldn’t mistake him for me, even if he tried. His hair is down and wavy with blue streaks, and he’s wearing dark eyeliner. Otherwise, he’s pretty plain. And his magic, from what Lex told me, is iffy at best since it was dormant for almost a century in their world. In fact, you might not even notice him at all. But then again, maybe you _would_ still be able to recognize him, because he IS me. And I’d like to think I create some sort of impression, no matter where I am,” he said, waving his hand in a flourish.

“By the way, don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t care less where he is. I’m just giving you the information you asked for,” Magnus added, haughtily. “And actually, I think I’m bored now. We’ve already been here for a while now. Should we retire to the loft, Lex darling?” 

“You’re going to leave? Just like that?” Isabelle sputtered. She couldn’t believe it. 

Behind Magnus’s shoulder, Lex flashed her a look that almost looked apologetic. What could he do, anyway? He wasn’t the one who had caused the discord between Magnus and Alec, right?

“I am,” Magnus declared. “Things regarding your brother Alec no longer concern me. Good day, Isabelle.” He threw up a portal, hooked his arm through Lex’s, and pulled him into the portal. Together they disappeared. 

Isabelle rolled her eyes. Boy they had been no help at all. But at least she knew about the other world Magnus – had he called him Mags? And had he insinuated that Alec was hanging out with Mags at the moment?

Ugh, way too much to process, thought Isabelle. Ah well. She should get back to the Institute right now. Perhaps she would run into her brother there…

****************

At the moment, Mags was facing a bit of a dilemma.

Mainly, the dilemma being a very tall, dark, and handsome Shadowhunter lying on the bed in front of him, unconscious. Who had been rendered unconscious after an unfortunate incident – and it was Mags’s fault.

He cursed himself inwardly for being careless. It was expected that his magic would be incredibly unpredictable. Even worse, magic was intimately connected with his emotions – he knew this, even back when it had first manifested when he was a child.

It had been bad enough when his jealousy at seeing Lex kiss Magnus had inadvertently triggered a spark that had hit the guy in the back. Talk about _blatant_...

After that, one would have thought he would have learned from that, and just kept his distance from everyone.

But, no the damage was done -- and now the tall Shadowhunter was unconscious. Along with a slight purplish mark at the base of his neck…

“Uh, what do we have here? And….Oh.” Mags turned at the sound of the sudden unfamiliar voice. 

His eyes widened at the sight of a sexy, runed – and for some reason, very familiar looking -- Shadowhunter girl in the doorway, her eyes on the unconscious Shadowhunter, her eyes flashing. Then her eyes had landed on him, and her look of horror had turned into confusion. 

She squinted at him, taking in the dark wavy undercut hairstyle, high cheekbones, gorgeous almond shaped brown eyes, and the familar sharp jawline...

“…Magnus?” she hesitantly asked. 

The guy flinched at the name, his eyes darting back and forth in fear.

Despite the difference in complexion, this Asian guy was a dead ringer for Magnus! His facial expressions were not similar though. Her eyes then flew to his neck, where there was a Deflect Rune (!?). Then her eyes traveled down his muscular arms, also runed…

_But that meant..._

“…or not?” she added, still in that hesitant voice. She gestured toward his neck and his upper torso.

Mags shut his eyes in defeat. How had she known who he was? Even Alec had thought the disguise had been good enough.

But here she was, assessing him as if she knew him somehow. She was probably a good friend of his alter in the Shadow World. 

Somehow Mags found the voice to speak, even under the intense scrutiny of those dark, beguiling, doe eyes..

“Uh, Mags for short. Well, at least they said it would be easier to differentiate from the Magnus in this world,” he said awkwardly, swallowing hard.

Wow, Isabelle thought. He totally_ sounds_ like Magnus. And yet…

“They?” Isabelle echoed, already knowing who he was referencing.

“Shadow world Magnus. And…Lex, from my world,” Mags responded listlessly. Isabelle noted he had said the second name as if it pained him to do so.

“And, uh these runes are glamoured on. These had been Alec’s idea. He thought it would be easier for me to move around the Institute wthout drawing attention to myself,” he continued. He brought his neck to his neck, and the Deflect rune shimmered, gradually disappearing from view.

The girl blinked. "Oh...that's neat," she said carefully, lifting her eyes to meet his. 

Suddenly, Mags knew why she looked so familiar. There was a strong resemblance to Alec! 

"Isabelle Lightwood?" he asked hesitantly.

She slowly nodded, still rendered somewhat mute by this unexpected circumstance. She was still looking at Mags, trying to figure him out. Definitely not a presence like Magnus, for sure – and actually, who could even compare with Magnus? But one could still tell this individual was Magnus also – still cute. And somehow, awkwardly, yet deliciously shy. 

She had a soft spot for shy guys. 

She also realized she suddenly felt protective of Mags. He just looked so – _lost_, certainly a look one would never see on their Magnus. And helpless in this situation, as he turned back to look at her unconscious brother lying on the bed. He was so obviously out of his element.

“Hey,” she said, stepping forward and putting a hand on his forearm. Surprised, he looked up at her. She tried to give him an empathetic smile. 

"Give me your phone," she stated. 

Wordlessly, he handed it over. Isabelle clicked it on, typed in something, and handed it back to him.

He looked at what she had typed in. 

"You gave me your number?" he asked in a surprised tone of voice.

Isabelle smiled. "Yes, I did," she said. "You looked like you needed a friend, so at least you have someone to contact around here...."

Hmm, Mags thought, That was actually pretty sweet. A smile tugged at his lips, and he looked at Isabelle shyly. 

Aww, he's so cute, Isabelle thought yet again. Alas his smile disappeared again before long, and a worried look again crossed his face.

She felt compelled to say something.

“Look, everything will be okay, you know? But, can you tell me what happened here with Alec?” she asked gently. "Hope did he end up like this?"

At that, Mags flushed.

“Hmm maybe we can start with something simpler,” she said gently. “So, enquiring minds want to know. How did this all start? I ran into both of them earlier at Pandemonium, but they both acted like it was the last thing they wanted to talk about.”

_Of course they would both be at Pandemonium – and together._ They were both party types.

Mags closed his eyes, inhaling sharply. He had no right to feel the way he did.

_Get it together, Mags!_ he thought, irritated with himself.

Magnus sighed.

“Well, you know how Clary from your world had a mission to come into my World, to figure out where the Book of the White was, so her mother could be awoken in order to unlock the Mortal Cup? Well, there is no magic in my world – thus she needed my help. Thus she tracked me down, and…” He continued to tell Isabelle the whole sordid story, about the portal shard, about the Looking Glass party, which ultimately led him to meeting Lex…

…

“Wow, you used a mop handle to kill a demon? That’s pretty sharp thinking!” Isabelle said enthusiastically, getting into the story despite the current situation at hand.

“Yea, Lex was surely impressed,” Mags said offhandedly, as a visual of Lex’s hungry stare came into his mind. At the time Mags had froze, as he had felt his eyes flickering, so he had been in a state of panic, willing them to stop doing so.

“But I digress,” Mags said, reluctantly pulling his thoughts back to the current situation at hand. 

“Clary inadvertently fell through the portal, as the return of my magic made things unstable, and she pulled Lex though. I risked going into limbo to try to come here also. I live in New York, but I don’t know this version of New York. All I wanted was to bring Lex back.” 

He closed his eyes briefly as a brief flash of pain crossed his heart. “But somehow I’m not sure if he wants to return. I think he’s having too much fun here at the moment,” he said defeatedly.

“And I messed things up too,” he whispered, his eyes going back to Alec, who was still unconscious. 

Isabelle followed his gaze to Alec. “Oh, right,” she said. “So what happened after you met up with Alec?”

“I don’t even know where to begin,” he admitted. “It’s just so embarrassing. I guess sit and make yourself comfortable then."

He pointed to the chair by Alec’s bed.

Isabelle nodded, and went over to sit. 

"Go ahead, tell me everything," she said. "I won't judge." She gave him an empathetic smile.

Mags was really grateful for that. He was still embarrassed anyway...


	5. Everything Was Going So Well Until That Happened...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mags tells Isabelle how Alec ended up unconscious, and about his encounters with Alec today. Unfortunately, theres only one way to revive Alec -- and it involves contacting the ones that Mags least wants to see right now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex = inv Alec  
Mags = inv Magnus
> 
> Shadow counterparts as is.
> 
> All scenes from this chapter and on occur in the Shadow World.

Isabelle sat in her chair, observing Mags, who seemed uncomfortable. 

He kept shifting his position in the chair, his eyes kept darting here and there nervously. She placed a hand on his forearm. “It’s okay, I’m not the type to judge,” she said gently. “This must have been so crazy for you, being in a different dimension and all.”

Mags sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

“Yes,” he said, inhaling deeply. “Most definitely.” Like it or not, he had to start talking. 

“Okay, where do I begin? Right, so after Magnus and Lex had portaled out, it was just me and Alec…”

….

_Earlier, yesterday afternoon_

Alec and Mags were both silent as they slowly walked through the cemetery back toward the Institute. 

Individually they were still trying to make sense of what had just happened with Magnus and Lex, who had just portaled away from them in a huff.

They were also attempting to avoid looking at one another, as both had both been silenced by the realizations they had just made about the other.

Mags was still shellshocked upon learning from Alec that he was currently engaged to the Clave’s beautiful yet aloof envoy, Lydia Branwell_. Alec was definitely gay, wasn’t he?_

“So why are you marrying her again?” he had asked Alec.

“It’s a solid partnership. Shadowhunters take on duty over matters of the heart. Then we can both become co-Heads of the New York Institute,” Alec had said resolutely. 

He had not looked at him when saying that, only continuing to walk forward. Mags had wondered how many times the Shadowhunter had stood in front of the mirror, convincing himself of that. It was so obvious he did not have feelings for the girl, and especially if Alec had reacted to both Magnus and Mags the way that he had. 

It was totally in the eyes; there were some repressed feelings going on. 

And somehow, Alec had inadvertently let those feelings show, in that moment they had shared when he had crashed into him upon falling out of the portal. 

“But what does your heart tell you?” Mags had pressed.

At that, Alec had stopped walking, and closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter what my heart tells me. Certain things are just not accepted in Shadowhunter society,” Alec said resolutely, straightening up his posture like that of a soldier.

Then he had opened his eyes, turning to Mags.

Mags was looking with him with such empathy and compassion that he suddenly found it hard to breathe. What was happening? he thought. He barely knew him, and yet…

He looked away again.

“Life is just complicated, as much as I never wanted it to be,” he said awkwardly. “It should be more clear-cut. Follow the rules, right? I shouldn’t have any doubts, since I am doing this for duty…but somehow it’s the complete opposite of that. However, my hands are tied. Thus I'm going to do what I need to do, what's expected of me."

The look of surprise in his beautiful hazel eyes, along with his unguarded admission, had taken Mags’s breath away. 

“I can’t believe I just told you that. Somehow it’s incredibly easy to talk to you,” he said slowly, his eyes never leaving Mags’s face.

Mags couldn’t look away either. 

“Well,” he responded, “I’m here if you need to talk. I’m glad you see me that way.”

A small smile crept across Alec’s face.

“Yea, I really do,” he said. “There are no pretenses with you. I don’t feel like there’s any sort of wall between us. You’re completely opposite of…” Alec had trailed off, a guilty look in his eyes. Mags knew he had been thinking of Magnus.

“Well,” Mags said truthfully, “he is still me on some level – remember that. I’ll tell you, though, with me, I tend to want to hide my emotions instead of being open with them; I’ve been hurt a lot in the past. I used to go on autopilot, losing myself in whatever obsession – hobbies, or people – whatever was handy or available– and hide behind makeup and clothing.”

Mags regarded Alec for a moment before choosing his next words. “Do you think – even for a second – that Magnus might be hurting because you did propose to Lydia?” he asked Alec carefully. “And that’s why he’s acting the way he’s acting?”

The immediate flash of pain across Alec’s face spoke volumes. “I’m actually not that surprised to hear you say that,” Alec said slowly. “However, I was not aware that he would take it so hard. He’s very hard to read sometimes –”

“Sure he is,” Mags agreed. “It’s a perfected art, putting up walls, projecting onto others – we know it doesn’t truly work. But we do it anyway. I was hurt too, way back when, and I did it for a time…”

Mags trailed off, as he recalled those times. There were certain things he regretted doing in order to forget his heartbreak – if it hadn’t been for Ragnor, Catarina, and Raphael, he didn’t know where he would be today.

But, anyway, if any of his insights could help Alec, he was only too happy to disclose things about himself. _He couldn’t help but be drawn to him…_

“That was in another life, though. But right now, I may just hide behind work, and stay at home with my cats. Before my magic came back, I was perfectly fine doing Mundane things, like reading and cooking,” he added.

Alec seemed to perk up. “Oh, you like cooking?” he asked with a smile. “I’m not the best, but I am decent enough so that no one goes hungry under my watch.”

“And you mentioned work,” Alec continued. “What type of work do you do?” 

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I mean, Magnus, he’s a practicing warlock. What do non-practicing warlocks do –”

“I do tarot card readings,” Mags said, a bit embarrassed. “It is actually the basic thing I was able to do, even with my magic dormant all these years –”

“Tarot cards?” Alec asked, his interest currently piqued. “But I was taught that those are a hack –”

“Yea, to the average plebian,” Mags sniffed. “In the hands of a proper medium, the cards can definitely reveal certain things.” In fact, business back home had spread through word of mouth, as Mags’s reveals had come true, and an influx of steady customers had surprised even him. 

He actually had not needed the money, as he had acquired his own wealth throughout the centuries with warlock business and through relationships he had fostered. Having extra money on hand, though, was never a bad thing. 

And he enjoyed feeling like he was useful once again…

“Maybe you can read me sometime,” Alec said, shrugging. “Or how about palm reading? Is that part of your own thing too? And how quickly do you do that? For instance, could you read my palm right now?” 

Suddenly Alec had reached out and grabbed Mags’s hand. Warm tingles shot through his fingertips and arm.

Oh damn, Alec thought, eyes widening.The two conflicting sides of him, his head versus his real self, were at battle between themselves. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest_._

Mags, although shocked, did not pull away.

They both stood there, frozen. Alec lifted his gaze to meet Mag’s dark blue lined ones.

“Uh, I don’t know what had possessed me to do that. Sorry,” Alec managed awkwardly. His throat went dry. But he didn’t let go. Mags’s hands were slightly smaller than his, but really soft with long manicured fingernails. His manicure was a pretty dark blue. Absentmindedly he admired them, as his thumb started rubbing the inner part of Mags’s palm in small circles, partly out of nervousness.

_This actually feels…nice, _Alec thought. But then he shook his head. How could he be having such thoughts, if he was about to be married in due time? 

How could he have thoughts about _Magnus_ – someone who the Clave, and his family, would never accept?

Mags swallowed hard. “I guess, you’re that eager to have your palm read, eh?” he joked, trying to keep his voice steady. “Well, yes, I can certainly do that. Give me a second…”

He had trailed off, pulling his hands away for a second, trying not to react to the warm tingles that Alec’s fingers were causing him to feel. 

_Remember, he’s actually pining for the Magnus in his world_, he thought. But somehow it was starting to get harder to differentiate that, the more he was talking to Alec…

Then his mind flashed to Lex, remembering how he had kissed Magnus right before they had portalled away, and the guilt and hurt came back…

He took a few deep breaths. Okay, remain professional, he reminded himself, and he turned back to Alec.

With both hands, he took Alec’s hand again, and turned it palm up. He peered at his lines quickly.

“Loyal, steadfast. You love your family and will defend them to the death, even if they don’t see your worth, which is a lot of the time,” Mags said, maneuvering his hands so he could peer closer at certain regions of Alec’s palm.

While doing this, Mags observed Alec’s facial expressions. Alec had winced slightly during the last sentence – Mags suspected this hit closer to home than he had intended.

He pointed to the longest line on Alec’s palm. 

“Ah, here is your love line. Looks solid, and it seems to extend on as it reaches your wrist," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking, as he held Alecs hand, using his index finger to trace the line on his palm for emphasis. 

Was it just his imagination? Or did he just feel the tiniest shudder from Alec?

Anyway, he continued. "When you fall in love, it will be forever. But there is also a major branch, signaling there will be a choice to be made. In life, there are always choices to be made, some will be the easier path, others will prove to require more work but the benefits could outweigh the challenges. The branch looks significant, veering away from the other lines in your palm. This signifies that the choice that you end up making will completely alter your destiny, if you choose to make the harder choice.”

“But I suppose, this already happened right? You already made your choice, to be with Lydia – and that you chose to sacrifice love for duty?” Mags asked innocently. 

He looked up to see Alec looking at him intently with his hazel eyes. There was a hint of a storm behind them. 

Mags was unnerved by his gaze. 

Then Alec blinked, and a softness replaced them. The intensity however was still there, directed at Mags.

“Wow,” Alec said quietly “You are really good at this. It’s very spellbinding, how you were concentrating on the reading.”

Magnus gulped.

He recognized that look in Alec’s eyes. It had nearly reminded him of Lex looked at him back in the basement. Well, of course, he thought wryly. Because they were one and the same…

He also had a feeling that Alec had actually not made up his mind at all about Lydia vs the feelings he had for Magnus. There had been a brief flash of agony in Alec’s eyes – troubled and tortured -- as Mags was deciphering his love line…

“Well, yea, it’s my job,” Mags said, breaking the moment. He looked away, feeling a flush rise up the back of his neck. 

“Hey, we’re getting close,” Alec said suddenly. “Right there, past these trees.” He pointed at the regal Church in the proximity.

“I guess I should make myself scarce then,” Magnus ventured awkwardly. “Even back in the day, I recall Nephilim not being very welcoming to outsiders.”

“But where would you go?” Alec asked curiously. 

“Maybe a hotel or something? I mean, I’m sure that the New York here is just as metropolitan and there are usually tons of hotels around,” Magnus said awkwardly. “However, I’m not sure my cash would convert. I mean with the magic now, I could probably change the currency so it’s usable here –”

“Are you able to use your magic at all?” Alec wondered. “I mean, aside from the portal. Since you are able to do that, you could probably hold up a glamour right? Like, could you glamour runes on and try to pass for a Shadowhunter? Like this one on my neck is a Deflect rune. That way you could come in but posing as a Shadowhunter. Also, since we do allow Magnus to enter the Institute, no one would really know the difference if say, you came in instead of him.”

Mags thought a moment. “Maybe you’re right. But let’s make sure no one is around first, we can’t let people seeing this,” he said.

Alec thought a minute. “Well, right about now, there’s meeting at Ops going on, so I don’t think anyone will be coming out of the Institute. Also, we are certainly out of range of the cameras.”

“Hmm, okay then. Let me see…” Magnus’s mouth moved as he whispered a few words, and then brought his fingers to his neck. The air shimmered, and suddenly there was an inky black Deflect rune on his neck.

Alec’s mouth had dropped open.

“Wow, that’s a really good version. It looks real,” he managed. “Good job. Now you just need a few more random ones. Speed, agility, stamina…” 

Alec pointed to those runes on his body.

“Hold on,” Mags said, concentrating and moving his hands over his torso. Blue magic surrounded him. After a minute, he nodded. “They should be there under my clothing,” he said confidently. “I feel them.”

“And,” Alec said, “Shadowhunters are really proper. You’re going to need to undo your haircolor and nails. The style can stay. You may want to pull down some more bangs, to cover part of your face, so you aren’t as recognizable. I mean, you still resemble Magnus to an extent. Also, not many Shadowhunters walk around in a suit, so you will need to change into something more casual.” 

Magnus nodded. Holding both hands in front of him, blue flares emerged to wrap around his feet, moving upwards . Soon his hair was back to black, with thick wavy bangs swept over one eye, no makeup on his face, and his nails were natural again. He was wearing a long sleeve olive green button-down and black pants with boots.

“Will this do?” he asked. 

“So this is what Magnus would look like as a Shadowhunter,” Alec murmured. “Damn.” _Of course he would look good…_

“Should I take that as a good thing, or a bad thing?” Mags asked, confused.

“Uh, don’t mind me,” Alec said a little too quickly. “Yea, it’s a good thing. Very good thing.” 

His cheeks held just a hint of pink. “Your hair looks great, by the way. Anyway, come with me. I’m sure we can find something to keep us busy in the meantime.

Mags followed Alec as they headed toward the front steps of the New York Institute.

…..

They had managed to successfully pass Mags off as a French Shadowhunter named Marcel, visiting from the French Institute. 

Mags had been very impressive, pulling off flawless French and fluent French accented English when speaking. Many had seemed drawn to him, which had made Mags slightly nervous – he had not wanted to get that much attention, lest he be recognizable to them.

Mags and Alec had eventually ended up in the training room, where Alec had grabbed a set of practice sticks. He lobbied them at Mags, who managed to catch them at the last minute. 

Whew, Mags thought. He had almost fumbled them.

“I come down here in-between missions to practice my form and to train,” Alec said, reaching into his lower cargo pockets and drawing out two seraph blades. “Have you ever done any sparring before?”

“Hmm,” Magnus thought, eyeing the seraph blades with some trepidation. “I did some fencing back in the day, we would have bouts from time to time. And I used to dabble in some martial arts but now I mainly just do tai chi.”

“Let’s work out for a bit,” Alec suggested. “But you might want to get into something more comfortable.” Alec had taken off his black button-down, and was now just in a black teeshirt and black pants.

Hmm workout gear? Mags thought, as he pointed his hand toward himself. Suddenly Magnus was in a grey tank top. Suddenly all the glamour runes on his chest and his upper arms were visible.

Alec just stared at Mags. He had not expected Mags to be so built underneath that shirt. And the runes on his muscles and chest…. _But where was his mind going_…yea, no. Stop right now, Alec thought.

“Okay, let’s start,” Alec said, strengthing his resolve, as he lunged forward with the seraph blades. Mags nimbly stepped away and to the side. “Lower your center.” They started to go through the motions…

…

They sparred through several sessions, and Alec was huffing and puffing. Mags had been much more nimble than he had let on, despite not fighting or fencing for many years. Toward the end, his defense had been impeccable.

“Can we rest for a second?” Mags asked. “I’m a little winded.” He was actually not tired at all, but he noticed Alec was waning a bit.

Alec’s face was red and sweaty with effort, and he seemed relieved that Mags had said something. 

“Sure,” Alec said, as he walked over to a bench and sat down. Mags followed suit. He tossed him a towel. They both toweled off their necks and arms.

“Your reaction time wasn’t bad at all,” Alec said, impressed. “You said you haven’t fought for almost a century, was it?”

Mags nodded. “Yes. In our world, once there were no more demons to fight, there was no reason to keep training. But yea back in the day I might have known one or two grandmasters,” he said evasively. He smiled slightly.

Good to know that it was like riding a bicycle. Muscle memory and skills seemed to come back when called upon…

Alec again found it hard to not stare at Mag’s muscular chest and arms that were revealed by the grey tank top. Right now there was a slight layer of sweat, making the skin glisten. Not to mention the glamoured runes.

There was just something about him, right about now…

In turn, Mags’s attention was directed again to Alec’s proximity and the closeness of his runes.

_Lillith, especially that Deflect rune._ Mags wondered how sensitive that part of his skin was, especially after having that burned into his skin with the stele. Mags unconsciously leaned slightly in to take a better look.

Then he lifted his eyes. Alec was gazing at him with an intense look in his hazel eyes. And was his face inching closer? 

His heart was suddenly beating erratically in his chest.

Mags gulped inwardly, exhaling hard. A burst of air, in a blue color, escaped from his mouth, out of nervousness. 

It landed on Alec’s neck, right on the Deflect rune itself.

Oh no, Mags thought, as he realized his careless error. 

Mags froze, not knowing what was going to happen next.

Alec’s eyes widened in surprise, and he gasped, as the blue air hit his neck and area with the rune. The blue air was strangely cooling. Within the next second, his skin was tingling madly, and then his nerve endings were singing. 

Something was starting to feel _really_ amazing….

_By the Angel,_ he thought faintly_. Mags…wow. _

He kept his gaze upon the warlock as his hazel eyes dilated, and a dreamy smile crept across his face. He felt like something magnetic was making him lean in toward Mags…his face was _so close_…_his lips..._

Suddenly, without warning, Alec’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Oh, crap, Mags thought, jumping up in shock, one hand over his mouth.

Damn him, and his unpredictable magic! he cursed himself inwardly. He just stood there, looking down at the unconscious figure of the Shadowhunter on the floor. Where his breath had hit him, there was now a purplish bruise.

What was he to do?? He had to get Alec out of the training room. He bent down and attempted to haul Alec up from under his arms. But Alec was just a little too heavy –

“Hey, Marcel! What happened to Alec?” Mags froze, turning around slowly. Oh, it was Duncan – one of the Shadowhunters he had encountered earlier. Right, they had told everyone his name was Marcel…

“Is he okay?” Duncan pressed.

“He passed out. He said he was feeling faint,” Mags said, enunciating purposely in a French accented English. “I didn’t know what to do.” He shrugged helplessly.

“Cmon, let me help you,” Duncan said congenially, as he took Alec under one arm, to support him. 

Fortunately Mags was better able to handle this situation now. Taking Alec under the other arm, he smiled at Duncan gratefully. It was rather fortunate Duncan had showed up when he had – Mags was just not prepared to explain how he wouldn’t be able to activate his strength rune, because it wasn’t real…

Together they brought Alec up to his room and managed to get him onto the bed.

Mags had been so grateful. “Thank you so much Duncan you were such a great help,” he said.

Duncan had smiled just then. “You’re welcome,” he said.

Then he suddenly peered closely at Mags, and Mags felt self-conscious. 

“Hmm are you sure you never came to visit before? You look incredibly familiar,” Duncan mused.

Mags flushed. “Uhh –”

Then Duncan shook his head.

“Nah, probably not. I would have remembered someone so cute,” he said teasingly, wagging a finger in his face. “Yes, you.”

Mags just stared at him, then chuckled nervously. 

“Thanks,” he murmured, looking away. He was relieved that Duncan had not recognized him.

Duncan’s eyes brightened at Mags’s laugh, and he smiled. “Well, I’m not sure how long you are staying, Marcel, but what about we hit up the local bar after the day is over? Maybe have a few drinks?” 

He put his arm lightly on Mags’s forearm.

Mags was flabbergasted. Duncan…was flirting with him? Egad. He tried to think up something plausible.

“I can’t really say right now,” he murmured. “I would feel badly for abandoning Alec…Also he was supposed to show me some other things later.”

Duncan nodded. “Ah, okay, well the invitation remains open, just so you know,” he said softly. “Anyway I need to get back to Ops. I’ll see you around?” He slid his arm down to Mags’s elbow, squeezed it lightly, and left the room.

Mags just stared at his retreating back. Wow, that had been…weird. But at least Duncan had helped him out. Sigh. 

Tired all of a sudden, Mags collapsed into the nearest chair.

*****************

“Wait…so you were just waiting here the entire time after you guys brought Alec to the room? That was like 6 hours ago!” Isabelle exclaimed.

“Has it been that long?” Mags asked, rubbing his eyes. “Actually I did take a nap while I was here.”

Suddenly Isabelle had an impish look on her face.

“And damn, Mags, what did you _really _do to Alec? You exhaled upon his neck, and he passed out! Sheesh, that must have been some magic there between you two!” she joked. “And you left a mark. That doesn’t look very good, does it?”

Mags groaned. “Not now, Isabelle,” he said half-crossly, moaning and covering his face in embarrassment.

Isabelle suddenly looked resolute. “Well I doubt Alec is going to wake up on his own – if it’s already been this long. We will need to seek help,” she said. 

“Unfortunately there’s only one person who can help.”

Isabelle looked pointedly at Mags.

Mags already knew the answer.

“Magnus. Why, of course. Caused by me, so obviously it HAS to me who resolves this issue,” he muttered, sighing.

The prospect of seeing him again, and encountering his haughty demeanor, along with Lex, in whatever emotional state he was in, or lack thereof, were not appealing notions to him right now.

_Shit._


	6. The Most Awkward Meetup, Like Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mags and Isabelle call upon Magnus for help with Alec. Magnus ends up bringing Lex along. It ends up a very awkward situation..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex = inv Alec  
Mags = inv Magnus
> 
> Shadow counterparts as is.
> 
> All scenes from this chapter and on occur in the Shadow World.

At the loft, Magnus suddenly sensed the approach of a fire message, and his hand shot up immediately to intercept it.

Eh? Who’s this from? he wondered. Upon reading it, his face visibly darkened.

“What’s going on, darling?” Magnus turned at the dulcet tone of voice. So like his Alec, but more personally fine-tuned for him…Lex had just come into the living room from the shower, his hair still slightly damp. And wearing one of Magnus's short jacquard silk robes – which was just a tad shy of indecent given that Lex had a few inches above him…

Magnus’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. _Damn, legs for DAYS…_This was probably the most he had seen of Lex -- ever. 

As for Lex, he didn't seem so affected about the length of the robe.

“I hope you don’t mind, about the robe. As you recall, I didn’t come prepared,” Lex said, gesturing at his ensemble. “It does seem just a tad short though, but I’ll deal with it. After all, it’s not as if I’m going out anywhere soon…”

“Why, of course not. And wow, i do LOVE seeing you in my clothes, hmm,” Magnus purred, having recovered quickly. He sauntered over to Lex, and slowly circled Lex, never taking his eyes off of him. His eyes roved over Lex’s attractive body, taking in all exposed regions. It gave Lex a slight thrill as he noticed this.

“But, we should make sure things fit,” Magnus continued, albeit a bit regretfully, as he flicked his wrist – and the length of the sleeves, as well as the hem lengthened quite a bit to accommodate Lex. 

Now Lex was more decently covered, especially his thighs, as the length was now right above his knees.

“Thanks,” Lex said, his cheeks pink.

“So what’s going on?” he asked, back to the matter at hand.

Magnus pasted a smile on his face. “Well, not good news, I’m afraid. There’s about to be an awkward situation coming up again – involving Isabelle, Mags, and Alec,” he said wryly.

“Oh, really?” Lex stated. “Well it must be really bad if it’s got you looking like that. I’ve gotten so used to your happy face. But then again, when you look at that, you look dangerous and sexy, which is also a plus.” 

He threw Magnus a wink and grinned.

There was no way that Alec – totally still in the closet – would ever have said that to him.

Magnus’s face softened, which turned into a devilish look. “You are the absolute best, “ he teased, grabbing at Lex. Lex squealed and ducked out of reach. _Damn he was beautiful…_

“No, something happened to Alec – he’s unconscious -- and they need my help. Isabelle was the one who asked. I can’t deny her. And regardless of our situation with the other two, I guess I should help,” Magnus sighed. 

He had choked on the words “the other two.” 

Lex saw how worried he looked. He knew that he was worried about Alec. Which was natural, despite the awkward situation they were all in, right now. 

Lex came over and looped his arms around Magnus’s waist.

“Well you are generous and Isabelle is a dear friend of yours – of course you will want to help. We will just deal with whatever else happens when they get here,” he said, trying to reassure Magnus.

Magnus smiled just then, which made Lex feel good, despite feeling nerves start up.

Inwardly, Lex was feeling nervous as well, especially with seeing Mags again. 

As much as he has been trying to push the thoughts of him again, he was never far from his mind. 

It was just easier when he didn’t need to _see _him.

“Given that Alec is unconscious, I think I will need to go over there,” Magnus said. “I’d ask you to come, but Shadowhunters might suddenly wonder about an Alec Lightwood that has no runes and who isn’t fashion- challenged. _Unless…_”

Lex looked at him.

Magnus glanced at him appraisingly, and then flicked his finger. Suddenly Lex was surrounded by blue magic. It tickled and caressed him.

“Voila,” Magnus muttered. “Lillith, you’re nearly perfect now. Look in the mirror.”

Lex turned to look in the mirror. His eyes widened.

He was almost the _spitting_ image of Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter – complete with runes, and wearing a black button-down, cargo pants, and black combat boots. There was even a duplicate bow and quiver slung on his shoulder.

Right, so they could just walk into the Institute now. As it was, Isabelle and Mags were with the real Alec in his bedroom, and it was currently locked with a Silencing and Locking Rune.

But the longer Lex looked at himself in the mirror, something was off.

Magnus hummed as he looked him over.

“I know what’s the problem is,” he said. “You look too confident, too carefree. Also, your hair is too perfect.”

Magnus stepped in closer to Lex. 

“May I?” he asked. Magnus’s face was very close to his.

Lex gulped. “Uh, sure,” he said. 

Magnus lifted both hands toward his head, and started running his fingers through his hair, roughing it up a lot. At first, Lex froze when those fingers started pulling at his scalp, as it was sending tingles throughout his nerve endings. Lex started to swoon. There was this beautiful being in front of him, and his face was _so_ close…

But that was before he realized that Magnus had completely and utterly destroyed his hairstyle. He snapped back to attention. “Oh my god, Magnus,” he said, as he realized what Magnus had done, “Did you create tangles in my hair?” The horror!

“No, but I had to make your hair look messy. That’s how Alec likes to wear his hair,” Magnus explained patiently. “Anyway, I think I’ve got it down.”

He stepped back to look at Lex, and his breath caught.

Suddenly he was experiencing deja-vu – who was standing in front of him? 

Was it Lex? Or Alec? 

_Lex looked so much like Alec now._

And his lips were so close_. _

_If he just leaned in, and stood on tiptoe…_

Lex’s large hazel eyes looked directly at him, so open and unassuming…

Magnus felt that ache in his heart. _He adored Lex._ _But he certainly wasn’t Alec. _His heart dropped. But he dismissed it quickly, smiling brightly at the faux Shadowhunter in front of him.

“If he even styles his hair at all,” Lex muttered. “He looks like he just got out of bed and decided to wing it. This is atrocious.” He squinted at the horrible hair in the mirror. At least he wouldn’t be running into anyone he knew at the Institute.

“Now practice scowling. And an eye roll,” Magnus said.

“Scowling?” Lex asked, surprised. Had he ever scowled in his life?

“Try this,” Magnus suggested. “Squint your eyes and wrinkle your nose like you are smelling something really bad, and then purse your lips.”

Lex tried it – this was so unnatural…

He rolled his eyes. Why were they doing this again? _This was annoying…_

Magnus grinned. “Well good to know that the eye-roll’s the same across universes,” he said.

“Okay, we’re set. Hopefully this won’t be too awkward,” Magnus said, snapping open a portal. He grabbed Lex’s hand, and together they stepped in.

How awkward could this get?

*******

Turns out, it was plenty awkward.

As they stepped out of the portal in front of the New York Institute and walked in through the front door, they somehow kept running into Shadowhunters who needed “Alec"'s help for something, or that they needed him to pass along messages to his parents or his siblings. 

Fortunately Magnus was there, and clearly exuded authority over the situation. 

“Pardon me, but I need Alec for some business right now. After that is resolved, he will be happy to address everyone. Now come along,” Magnus said, pulling a flustered “Alec” with him.

They rounded a corner, and then the two men relaxed. “Oh my god,” Lex said, flustered, “Alec needs to deal with that all the time? Everyone’s so needy. I was so overwhelmed.”

“Well, yea,” Magnus said. “Everyone defers to him, since he is the eldest Lightwood.”

“I gotta give him props for being able to handle people rushing up to him like that all the time,” he said, grudgingly.

“Alec is pretty good at handling that – I personally think he should be named the next Head of the Institute,” Magnus said. “But apparently there’s an issue with that, that’s why he’s engaged right now to marry the Envoy of the Clave, Lydia Branwell.”

Magnus winced, as if the words had hurt him to say.

Lex glanced at Magnus. That was the third time Magnus had mentioned the engagement since Lex had arrived. 

Magnus’s demeanor had seemed to deflate slightly. 

_Poor Magnus!_

He knew how that felt. There was nothing worse than pining over someone that was involved with someone else, or whose attention was taken by someone else…

And oh great, now he was making _himself _feel bad. 

_Wow, really hitting it out of the park today, aren’t you, Lex, _he thought wryly.

Lex grabbed Magnus’s hand, making the warlock look up at him in surprise.

“Hey, didn’t you say Alec’s room was upstairs? Let’s go up,” he said, pointing to a stairwell.

The warlock nodded, and they ran up the stairs together.

…

Soon they arrived at Alec’s room. The door was closed.

Magnus raised his hand to knock at the door. “Psst, Isabelle,” he said in a loud whisper.

The door creaked open a bit, with Isabelle popping her head out.

“Magnus,” she said, relieved. Then her eyes flitted to the individual next to him and she froze, her eyes bugging out.

“Uh…” she said, uncertainly. “…Lex?”

Lex flushed. “Yea, I feel just as awkward as you look right now,” he said slowly. He couldn’t help but eye Isabelle’s outfit once again.

Really?? Does this girl_ never_ put on modest clothing??

Isabelle saw where Lex’s eyes went. “Don’t say a word, or else I’ll mess your hair up even more than it is already” she said warningly.

Lex was indignant. “You wouldn’t _dare_!” he hissed.

Boy, Isabelle mused, looking at Lex getting all huffy about his hair. 

They both glared at each other.

“Hush, children!” Magnus said, quieting them both down. “You don’t’ want us to draw attention, do you? This is a precarious situation. Your brother is currently indisposed, and we have his alter glamoured AS him. Now I suggest a better course of action is to call a truce, and perhaps we can even step in so we can lock the door, Isabelle?”

Isabelle was still smiling at Lex, all smug after the hair remark. This version of her brother was just so _fragile_….

“Why, of course. Come in,” she said sweetly. 

“Right,” Magnus said, as they both walked in. Isabelle immediately walked toward the bed, and stood next to Alec, who lying on the bed, unconscious. Magnus immediately honed in on a purple mark on the base of his neck. 

Magnus’s eyes narrowed at that – that mark looked _oh-too-familiar_…

Simultaneously, Lex had looked to the left, where Mags was standing – but was that even Mags?

Magnus had turned in that direction by this time, and he was rendered speechless.

Mags, who had reglamoured his runes back on since Isabelle had sent off the fire message – looked every inch a Shadowhunter. 

Leaning slightly against the wall with his arms crossed, he was idly looking around the room, his lips pursed. His hair was thicker and wavier than before, but just black now, falling over one eye, he had a Deflect Rune at his neck, and he was wearing a long sleeved olive green buttondown which remarkably showcased his muscular arms and torso. 

Mags suddenly realized people had walked into the room. He had gotten distracted, and was now a little flustered. 

“Ah sorry,” he said, a bit flustered but using his French accent, just to be safe, and to maintain his facade. “I didn’t realize we had visitors.”

Then he really focused on who stepped in. 

Magnus and…Lex? 

Holy, he was a _spitting_ image of Alec, who was currently lying unconscious in the bed. With the runes and everything.

“Oh,” he said softly.

Both Magnus and Lex were staring at Mags, their mouths slightly open.

“I didn’t know you spoke French…” Lex said slowly. His mouth was dry. God that was _hot…_

Mags, deciding to play the role to the fullest hilt, turned to Magnus.

“You mean, you didn’t tell him we both speak like a zillion languages? Living all those centuries, we were bound to pick it up,” Mags said nonchalantly in delicate French/English. He glanced furtively at Lex under lowered lashes.

Lex almost _swooned _as Mags was speaking. Fuck, if he was doing that on _purpose_…

“And, oh, btw I go by _Marcel_ here. We decided that I’m undercover, as long as I’m staying here in the interim,” Mags continued lightly, moving his hands with a very Magnus-like flourish. “Esteemed guest of Alec Lightwood, straight from the French Institute.”

“Wait, you are staying here -- with him?” Magnus sputtered in shock. “_Surely you don’t mean right in his room…_”

_Mags gets to stay with Alec in his room??!_

Magnus’s head was spinning. _OH, he was jealous…_

“Uh, where else would I go?” Mags stated indignantly, in the same delicate French-English, along with the dramatics. “Surely I wasn’t going to be _dumped_ on the street. It was Alec’s idea for this getup, after all.”

“I guess it’s been quite successful,” Mags mused aloud, almost to himself. “I even got picked up by a Shadowhunter this afternoon to go out for drinks. Certainly hadn’t expected that. How silly, right? I mean, why would he even be interested in me? Of course that would just get way too complicated…”

He looked up, and saw "Alec's"(Lex's) cheeks flaming as he looked at him. Egad, he was getting mixed up now with the identities, especially with Lex glamoured looking exactly like Alec. 

Lex was scowling at Mags now. 

“Oh, so someone asked you out this afternoon?” he asked in a controlled tone.

Mags felt his cheeks grow pink. Lex had heard that? He thought he had murmured it to himself. 

Oh right, Lex and his super Nephilim hearing. He had forgotten about that. _Fuck.._

“It was nothing, really,” Mags said, trying to deflect quickly. “Dustin helped me bring Alec back up here. There’s no way I could have done it otherwise…”

“Dustin, eh?” Lex stated, in the same controlled voice.

Just then Magnus turned to Lex, and saw the expression on his face. 

“Hey, with that sour expression on your face, now you totally look like Alec!” he told Lex enthusiastically, which made Lex grimace.

“Not now, Magnus,” Lex muttered.

At that moment, Isabelle walked toward them. 

“Uh, if we are done with the jealousy and the battle of egos, can we work on my very unconscious brother? People will be questioning his absence if he’s not up and about soon,” she stated sardonically.

She turned to Lex.

“And, hello, why wouldn’t people hit on Mags – I mean, Marcel? He’s _hot._ I mean he’s kinda disguised, but he’s an alter of Magnus, who embodies hotness without even trying. Surely, you didn’t think he wouldn’t get noticed, right?” she said sweetly.

Lex was getting riled up just at the sight of Isabelle’s smugness. God, he was so glad that his little sister back home was not this insufferable. He didn’t need someone pointing out that Mags was not only hot, but _especially hot_ in this guise as a French Shadowhunter, speaking with that amazing accent… and that _everyone _was going after him!

The temperature in the room had noticeably gotten much cooler, especially with the three way glare going on now…

Magnus walked right in the middle of the three of them. “Okay, that’s enough. Right now, we need to get to the bottom of this – why Alec is unconscious,” Magnus declared. 

His gaze flitted to Mags, who was suddenly actively avoiding everyone’s gaze. “That purple spot on his neck,” Magnus said slowly. “That was magically-induced.” He stared hard at Mags. 

“Care to enlighten us on what happened? What were you two doing, exactly?” Magnus asked. HIs tone had gotten ice-cold as he narrowed his eyes.

“Uh,” Magnus stammered. “Well, we had nothing to do this afternoon after we got into the Institute, so he wanted to teach me how to spar,” he said. “Of course he couldn’t have known that I studied with one or two Grandmasters throughout the centuries, so it actually ended up more equal of a challenge than he had anticipated. So we both were sitting on the bench, toweling off, and resting afterwards, and I lost control of my magic for one quick second, and he collapsed. You know, with my magic rebounding and stuff, the potency was probably at least up to 5x the normal effect…”

Mags was rambling now, and he knew it. He could tell that Magnus was not buying it one bit, the suspicious way he was eyeing him.

“Mags,” Magnus said evenly. “Like, you don’t think I know how that might have happened? That scar on Alec's neck is from an act of passion or something related to it...."

Lex's eyes bugged out at Magnus's words. _What! _

He stared at Mags.

"But I can't be certain," Magnus said thoughtfully. "However I can't reverse it if I don't know what actually caused it..."

He directed a look at Mags, who flinched.

_Lillith_, Mags thought, starting to feel sick to his gut_. Get ready for complete humiliation..._

"Uh, he tried to kiss me, and I panicked for a second, and blue breath shot out by accident and hit him," Mags mumbled, closing his eyes.

"What? Couldn't catch that," Magnus tutted.

"He tried to kiss me, okay? His face was way too close and I panicked and exhaled, not knowing that was going to come out. My breath hit his neck, he swooned, he tried to come in again, and then passed out," Mags blurted out. "Anyway, I don't think he knew what he was actually doing --"

"Oh, he did,_ did he_?" Magnus said, cutting him off. 

"But -," Mags faltered.

Magnus just stared at Mags with an unreadable look, and Mags stopped talking.

An uneasy silence followed. 

_Ugh, is that how I look when I get hurt and betrayed? _ Mags thought, suddenly feeling terrible. Magnus looked away, looking absolutely devastated for a second. Then he turned back, with his eyes were suspiciously bright.

"Well then, that's an easy fix," Magnus said a little too cheerfully.

He went over to the bed and chanted something while waving his hand over Alec’s still form.

"There!" he proclaimed. He turned to Isabelle. "Alec should wake up within the hour."

Isabelle hugged Magnus. "Thank you so much," she said gratefully. "You're the best."

"No worries, my dear," he said, accepting her embrace. "Anyway we should get going..." 

Magnus pulled away from the hug, smiling a tight-lipped smile. "I need a moment, Lex. Do you mind if I meet you at the front?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit strange.

Without waiting for an answer, Magnus walked out.

Meanwhile, Lex was still staring. At Mags.

_So...that happened, huh?_

Mags could barely look at him -- the hurt in his hazel eyes, the uncertainty in his eyes -- despite him looking physically like Alec in every way now…

That was Lex looking out at him.

_"Did you want to?" _His voice came out barely as a whisper.

Mags opened his mouth to speak. 

Only for Lex to hold up his hand. _"N-Never mind, I don't want to know,_" he said hastily.

"No. I didn't," Mags said quickly. His voice came out pleading. "Lex..."

Lex looked at him just then, really looked at him.

"I don't believe you," Lex whispered. "But, look at him -- how could you not want to?"

"You don't even look like yourself. I barely recognize you," Lex added, his voice barely audible. "What we had -- was that just something I imagined?" 

"But it's my fault as well. I just got too caught up in things over here," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

Mags had never heard him sound so sad before. _So resigned._

"I wish Clary had_ never_ pulled me here," Lex said dejectedly. "But it is what it is now."

"I know," Mags said quietly.

They just looked at one another.

"Anyway, I should get going," Lex muttered. He turned and walked out. 

Mags and Isabelle were alone in the room once more.

Isabelle inhaled sharply. "Wow," she breathed. "Lex was...."

_She had almost felt sorry for him, despite him being so annoying…_

Mags sighed. "Yea," he said.

"I didn't realize how much he_ liked_ you. He really really does," she said slowly. “You like him too, don’t you. Despite this thing with my brother…”

Mags was still staring at the doorway. “Yea,” he whispered. “I do.”

He had never felt as lost as he did, right at this moment…

“Shouldn’t you go after him?” Isabelle asked.

Mags blinked. “What?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Don’t _‘what’_ me, you silly warlock,” she teased affectionately. “Go after him.”

Mags looked at her for a minute, then walked over and pecked her on the cheek.

“You’re the best. I see why Magnus adores you,” he said with a smile.

Isabelle grinned. “I am pretty awesome. I’m also the logical and level-headed one in the family. Not to mention fashionable,” she said, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off her shoulder. Her dark eyes were dancing.

“I’ll say,” Mags said, laughing.

“Go!” Isabelle urged.

“Okay!” Mags laughed. 

Throwing her a wink, he ran out of the room, his heart quickening in his chest.


	7. Float Like a Butterfly, Explode like A Firecracker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After witnessing something shocking, all hell threatens to break loose, figuratively speaking. But it proves to be the right catalyst to turn things around....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex = inv Alec  
Mags = inv Magnus
> 
> Shadow counterparts as is.
> 
> All scenes from this chapter and on occur in the Shadow World.

Feeling dejected, Lex slowly made his way down the stairs, then he walked down the hallway toward the front doors of the Institute.

_Mags was lost to him._ That’s all he could think about. 

That wonderfully sweet, soft brown eyed, sensitive warlock from the Institute in their world, who fenced like an expert and killed that Demon with one lunge – he was lost to the glamours of the Shadow World. And to the Shadow World of _him_, no less.

_Did you want to (kiss him), Mags?_ His head was spinning, practically _picturing_ them together –

He suddenly felt sick…as he realized he had done the exact same thing.

This same Shadow World which had seduced him with magic, and had gotten him confused as the High Warlock of Brooklyn Magnus Bane was a devastating version of Mags, and just as addicting. 

But as pretty and glittery as he was, and as much as he did admittedly feel chemistry for him -- _he just wasn’t Mags._

In his anger and confusion over finding Mags practically on top of the Shadowhunter version of himself in the courtyard, he had lost all practical senses and walked the other way, practically throwing Mags into Shadow Alec’s arms. 

And admittedly, he had enjoyed his time flirting and playing around too…It had been enticing, and so different than anything he’s ever known.

But now he was regretting it so badly. It hurt. _His heart was bleeding._

Well, not that there was anything he could do about it now, right?

He looked around frantically as he took the steps down outside, two at a time, looking for Magnus.

And then he spotted him. 

Magnus was off to the left, his head kinda lowered as he paced around restlessly.

Quickly, Lex jumped the last three steps from the stairs onto the ground, and ran toward the glittery warlock

Once he reached him, he put his hand on his shoulder, making a surprised Magnus whirl around, his eyes a bit teary. Oh my god, Magnus was out here, all by himself crying?

Lex’s heart so couldn’t take that. Poor Magnus, he thought. His instincts flared. _Damnit Alec, for making Magnus cry, _he thought furiously. 

Then their eyes met – and locked.

They both froze, just looking at one another, _with wonder._

Magnus just _stared,_ and then his glamour dropped. Dynamic, gold cat eyes blazed with blinding emotion, staring into his hazel ones. Lex couldn’t help it; he was spell bound by those eyes. 

If he thought they were magnetic before, the emotions raging within him made him helpless to resist. Lex was just fixated.

Magnus’s mouth was forming a word, but Lex couldn’t hear what he was saying, or comprehend, as the wind rushed through his ears, getting louder with every second, and his blood was singing. 

Then all was eerily quiet…and it was only him and Magnus, and then he just happened to catch it.

“_Oh,_ _Alexander_,” Magnus whispered almost inaudibly, in a husky tone of voice. His voice trembled, his gold cat eyes were emotional, so emotional, and Lex was all caught up in that devastating combination.

In the back of his head, Lex was about to say something – _to protest that no, he was Lex, not Alec, you only glamoured me up to look like him so we could sneak me in_ – but the trembling timbre of Magnus’s beautiful voice got to him…

Then suddenly there were arms around the back of his head, entwining into his hair, and a firm soft mouth pressed tightly to his, and a tongue licking into his mouth.

Lex lost all train of thought. _He was now kissing Magnus Bane, in all his glittery and magical glory. _

His arms and body found themselves hopelessly entwined, as they pressed hungrily against one another, fingers tangled within each other's hair, softly tugging. 

_By the Angel..._

_The chemistry was electric…_

***************

_…well for about a few minutes. _

Then they kinda stopped, mouths and tongues still connected to one another, and both of their eyes opened.

And then…both of them started cracking up simultaneously. Like big time..

Both Lex and Magnus’s eyes flew open, and they were laughing so hard that their mouths disengaged and they were still holding one another close, but now they just couldn’t stop laughing.

“Oh my god,” Magnus laughed, as tears rolled down his face. “I’m…so so so very sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin this –”

“Oh no no no,” Lex gasped, tears running down his own face from laughing too hard, “I need to apologize to you, my darling.”

They continued to titter, as they looked at one another affectionately.

“It’s not you…” they said, almost simultaneously.

And then they started laughing again. And then they hugged, tightly.

_The both knew._

They were both fabulous, they had a lot in common, and they had great chemistry together – but that’s all they had.

They weren’t compatible in the way each other wanted. It took this kiss to realize that.

_And then --- BAM! a blinding FLASH~! Some kind of tremendous source of power_

_Hit the both of them, so hard -- it sent them both FLYING._

_****_

Mags found himself running down the stairs, flying down the hallway, running out the front doors of the New York Institute.

“Go get your man,” Isabelle had said. And he was doing exactly that.

But then something made me freeze, right on the steps of the New York Institute.

At the sight in the distance.—of Magnus and Lex staring into each other’s eyes, as if _spellbound_

Then, like two magnets of opposite fields, hopelessly unable to fight their attraction to one another, they came together furiously in a passionate kiss.

Mags felt his heart drop. Were Lex’s words just empty, and didn’t mean anything to him?!. That was barely 10 minutes ago, and here he was…smashing faces with his alter, Magnus Bane?!

_…well that was just foul._

His heart _shattered_ into a zillion pieces.

But…instead of feeling incredible sadness, as he would normally do, something else happened.

He started feeling a familiar pressure behind his eyes…

He started…feeling _angry._

Gentle Mags, who was rarely angry, only two times in his immortal life – once was at his father Asmodeus, who tried to keep him against his will in Edom, and Camille Belcourt, _vampire gold-digger-cum-cheater-slut extraordinaire. _They had both made fools of him.

_ And now, he was being made a fool of again!_

Against his more demure, kinder nature, he felt something flare up in his eyes, as his glamour dropped, and magic rippled through his veins. There was a pressure, ever increasing in his head, and behind his eyes.

His eyes were now _ablaze,_ first _gold_, then _red _and as_ fierce_ as they had burned -- during those two times he had let his anger get away from him…

….

And then all hell broke _loose._

_“MAGS!!! NOO!” a female voice shrieked._

_*************_

It took both Lex and Magnus awhile to get their bearings. 

_What the hell happened_ \---

They were a distance apart on Institute grounds, both on their backs, hurting like hell after being thrown apart.

“Goddamn,” Lex muttered, holding his side, as he had landed on it with the blast. About five feet away, he saw Magnus, ever so powerful, ever so glittery, and yet, having been caught off guard by the blast – he was as disheveled as he was, and as disoriented.

Lex gingerly sat up, still rubbing his side. He peered over at Magnus. “Are you okay, Magnus? You look a bit shaken up,” he said, offering his hand out to him.

Magnus groaned. “Damn, haven’t been caught off guard like that in eons,” he complained, holding his head. He started to take Lex’s hand, to be pulled up ---

Then Magnus suddenly bolted upwards, as if in realization. 

_Wait…that magical signature was so incredibly familiar_ – _as if it was his own!_

Wildly, he lifted his head to start scanning the area – only to meet the direct, cold gaze of his alter…

_Mags._

Magnus recoiled, stumbling back in shock. 

Holy shit, Mags looked furious. His gold cat eyes were out, and they were blazing fiercely. And now he was standing right in front both of them. 

Magnus froze.

Lex had also looked up by now, and froze.

“Mags?” he whispered. His magnificent gold eyes, were cold, ablaze, and angry – and directed at the both of them.

It sent a bolt of fear down Lex’s spine. His eyes widened. _Egad…_

Mags turned at the sound of Lex’s voice. He fixed his stare on him.

“You,” Mags hissed at him. Lex cowered, turning doe-eyed.

““What the hell was that, up there, huh?!” Mags was practically yelling now. 

Both Lex and Magnus were rendered speechless.

“Was this all a game to you, Lex?” he sneered. “You telling me you still had feelings for me, and then storming off? _Well, it isn’t a game._ But obviously it is to you. What the hell, you gave me that sob story, which literally convinced me that there was still something between us. So I ran out as fast I could, to try to catch you so I could apologize to you. And then I come out and see you and Magnus here in a _passionate-as-hell_ _kiss!!??!!!”_

Mags said all those words with such emotion, that his whole body shuddered. And that shudder was the equivalent of a mini earthquake – the trees, rocks, and even the New York Institute were shaking slightly. 

Lex and Magnus looked around in horror –

“Well, I don’t need this drama! I’m DONE. Have a great life, you two!” Mags bellowed. And then he just looked at them with a hard expression in his face, his gold eyes so bright, that even Magnus winced at it. 

Then Mags pivoted on his foot, and stomped away. 

His shoulders, however, were slumped and they looked defeated.

There was an awkward silence as they watched him walk away.

“Boy, you guys are _really_ something.”

Both whirled to face an annoyed looking Isabelle, with one eyebrow raised. 

“Can’t you keep your hands off one another? Anyway you guys deserved that. And _especially_ you –”

Her words died in her throat, as she took a good look at Lex.

Magnus had turned to glance at Lex as well. 

Lex just looked stunned, with a devastated look in his eyes. 

And then Magnus started feeling really bad for Lex. 

God, he looked so much like Alec right now. But right, he wasn’t, and that was the difference, he thought with a pang in his heart. 

And it had been wrong for him to kiss Lex --even though, in the heat of the moment, in his absolute misery, and with Lex glamoured, that Magnus had temporarily thought it had been Alec who had come up to him.

And in his grief, he had kissed him.

Lex. Not Alec. Lex.

Lex, who had _always_ belonged to Mags_.. In a way that he and Alec would never be…_

Magnus paused to briefly mourn this realization --_this absolute sense of loss_. 

Then he smiled to himself, and turned to Lex.

“Lex,” he said softly.

Lex looked up with red-rimmed eyes. 

“Magnus,” he said, in a voice so sorrowful, that Magnus flinched.

Please, never sound that way ever again, he thought, as he flicked his finger.

Suddenly, Lex was back to his old self, perfectly coiffed hair, sportscoat, neatly pressed slacks and all.

_Mag’s ideal mate. Meant to be._

Lex looked down at himself, and then up at Magnus, who smiled at him with the most beautiful disarming smile he had ever seen Magnus bestow upon him thus far. 

He blinked.

“Go get him,” Magnus said kindly. “You two are meant to be together…Alec from the Alternate Universe.

Lex just gazed at him, and then leaned in and kissed him lingeringly on the cheek.

“Lex kinda grew on me. It’s unique, and I realize that it _fits_ me. Maybe I _will _keep it, in honor of you,” he said softly. I will never forget you. You will always be special to me.” 

Magnus smiled sadly.

“Go,” he said again. Lex flashed him a grin, and ran after Mags.

Magnus suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Isabelle. “That was nice of you,” she said softly.

He grinned as he looked over at her. “Well, thank you,” he said. “I do aim to please. But I’m not done yet. I need to fix one more thing…”

And with that, he started running off in the direction Lex had gone.

Isabelle smiled as she watched him go. Shaking her head, she turned and walked up the steps back into the Institute. 

She needed to check on Alec, to see if he had awakened yet.

….

“Mags, wait!” No, no, no, that couldn’t be Lex, even though it sounded like him, Mags thought, his ears filled with intrusive noises as his head spun while he walked off the grounds of the Institute. He didn’t even know where he was walking to, he just had to get out of the vicinity.

Lex was with Magnus, and that was that. He just had to accept it.

And now he was wholly embarrassed. His cheeks flamed. He had not lost his temper or patience in a long long time. He retained pride in keeping his emotions at bay.

But look what happened now. He’d never be able to live it now. Ugh he just wanted to go home now…

Behind him, he heard the voice again. “Wait!” But then he heard a _“Magnus?!”_

And then he found himself suddenly _frozen in place_. 

_Wait, what --_

Magnus was suddenly in front of him. Mags looked at him, blinking.

“Sorry about doing that,” Magnus said kindly. It was the only way to keep you from walking any further.

“Uh, it’s okay,” Mags said awkwardly. “Well, I’m not going anywhere, and my magic is too unpredictable so it’s not like I can portal at will, so you have me, whether I like it or not. I think you can release that spell right about now?”

Magnus flicked his fingers, and Mags could move again. He rubbed his arm where the spell had taken hold.

“Thanks,” Mags murmured.

“Firstly, I need to apologize,” Magnus began, and then Mags blinked twice at that.

“What?” he asked.

Magnus held up two fingers as if he was gesturing to someone, but his eyes were looking at something or someone behind Mags. 

Mags turned -- and it was Lex, who looked absolutely crushed and anxious. Lex stopped upon seeing Magnus’s gesture. He nodded curtly.

Then his eyes met Mags, and Mags felt a tug in his heart. 

_Oh Lex…_

“As I was saying, I need to apologize,” Magnus said, turning back to Mags. “I let my emotions get the better of me when we were upstairs, and when Lex came out to find me, in my state of distress and him looking like Alexander, my mind blanked and I acted on impulse.”

He looked sheepish. 

“There is nothing between Lex and me, and in fact we realized that we are great together, but not in that way,” Magnus declared.

“My situation with Alexander may be hopeless, but Lex really cares about you. He’s meant to be with you, Mags. You two are perfect for each other. You need to give him another chance,” Magnus said kindly.’

Mags looked at him, wide-eyed, then looked past him to Lex, who had heard every word Magnus had said.

_Magnus had done that? For him?_ _For them?_

Lex and Mags locked glances, giving one another searching looks, albeit a bit hesitant. 

Lex was the first one to break. Tears had gathered at the edges of his eyes.

“Mags, I’m so sorry,” Lex breathed. 

He strode forward and reached out to take one of Mags’s hands in his. 

“My heart was yours ever since I saw you at my party, trying to get in on some guest list,” Lex said seriously, looking into Mags’s eyes. Then when you slayed that demon, this is going to sound positively awful but you _slayed_ me as well – you were so bright, and different, and wondrous than anyone that I’ve ever met, and _of course it was because you were really special_ – a warlock. Then I didn’t even know how you could even notice someone like me. But then you were acting like I was the best thing you had ever hoped to meet – _and it was just so amazing_, and –”

Lex was cut off as Mags leaned forward to capture his lips with his, with his wonderful slender arms folding him in.

Lex let out a surprised little noise from the back of his throat, but then his eyes fell closed as Mags slowly licked into his mouth. He put his arms around Mags’s neck and drew him in close as well.

_He missed this -- so much. _

They embraced one another, and it was everything sweet, everything wonderful, and everything they could have ever wanted.

Magnus looked at the reunited couple fondly. “Well, you’ve done your good deed for the day. You can even say – that you’ve helped _yourself _to an extent too.” He hoped the very best for them – he really did. 

Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked away.

…

Lex and Mags pulled away from one another after a very satisfying kiss, their eyes loopy and grinning from ear to ear. 

“I can’t believe Magnus helped us like that,” Mags said softly, taking his hand and moving a lock of Lex’s dark hair which had fallen into his eyes.

“Me neither, that was pretty awesome of him,” Lex agreed.

Then he frowned.

“However, the Shadow version of me could use some work. Being so damned undecided, and playing with the _both_ of you –”

“That’s what I was trying to tell him upstairs though, it's not what he thinks!" Mags interjected.

“Even though Alec was about to kiss me, I know it was because I reminded him of _him_! _Magnus_. And rightfully so, as he is me, and I am him. But, Alec did say that it was so much easier to talk to me and to get to know me. Meaning that he got to know the other sides of Magnus inadvertently by hanging out with me,” he mused. 

“I mean,” Mags said, his voice suddenly sounding a lot like Magnus, “If you _haven’t_ noticed by now, I tend to front a lot, and I wear glitter and shiny clothing, and I flirt like a devil. And it’s all fun and all, but it really _intimidates_ people who aren’t like that.” 

Mags grinned sheepishly. “I mean, I was plenty intimidated by him, _myself_, when I first came across him, and no, it was NOT because I had practically fell out of the portal and slammed into Alec and knocked him over…”

Lex rolled his eyes. “Yea, I remember that. You were so enamored of his runes, you couldn’t stop staring,” he huffed.

Mags looked abashed. “Yea, I was,” he admitted, “Ugh, it’s one of my things,” he confessed. But then he smiled, and put his arm around Lex “But you are my _ultimate t_hing, my love.”

Lex blushed. Then he slowly smiled, that sinful, confident smile that had captured Mags’s heart at the Alice in Wonderland party. “God,” he whispered in a lustful voice. “I can’t wait until I get you back home..”

Mags’s glamour dropped upon hearing what he said. He blushed fiercely.

Lex laughed. “Looks like I’m not the only one who wants that also,” he said softly. He bopped Mags on the nose, making him wrinkle his nose cutely.

Then he stepped away, a serious look on his face all of a sudden. “Our work isn’t done, here, though,” he said.

Mags looked thoughtful. “No, it really isn’t.” he said. “After all, Magnus and Alec aren’t together…” And he did feel bad for them. Magnus, as glittery and amazing as he was – was so genuine and sweet, and of course he knew that, because he was a version of _him_. He deserved someone who would love him heart and soul…

“They’re not together…yet,” Lex said, as a plan started to take form in his mind.

Mags looked at Lex, as realization dawned upon him. “You have an idea,” Mags said.

Lex suddenly grinned. “I do,” he said. “And my skills with party planning will come in handy, along with some of your magic. Are you able to summon one of those portals?”

“Well, let’s hope it’s working correctly,” Mags said sighing. “The last few times I tried using my magic, it was iffy at best…”

Lex suddenly swooped in and kissed him, catching Mags off guard. “Mmm,” Mags murmured, almost stumbling back in surprise,. Then Lex quickly stepped away, his cheeks pink and wearing a huge grin on his face.

“Try it now,” Lex said, smiling.

Mags shrugged, “Okay,” he murmured, as he raised his hands and proceeded to undulate sinuously with his body -- similarly to what he had done to create the fancier portal – which had brought him here. Gradually the vortex appeared, as liquid and vibrant as ever.

Lex’s eyes bugged out, at what Mags's body had just done, so graceful and fancy, along with the amazing liquid looking portal that was now before them. His mouth was dry.

God the things he wanted to do to this warlock…

“Uh, Lex?” Mags asked, seeing Lex slack jawed and staring at him. 

“Gonna revisit that later,” Lex muttered. Then he looked up at Mags, his eyes bright. “Well, look at you,” he said happily. “That’s an amazing portal, wow!”

“So, where are we going?” Mags asked.

“Magnus’s. And we are on a mission now,” he said seriously.

“And what’s that?” Mags asked curiously.

“Operation Soulmates,” Lex replied confidently “We have a wedding to stop.”

Ahh…”I love the sound of that,” Mags said, leaning him to kiss him. “You are _such_ a genius. Well then, after you, my love.”

He gestured toward the portal, with a flourish of his hand. Grinning, Lex grabbed Mags’s hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze, and then they both stepped in.


	8. Operation Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec is finally awake, and Isabelle and him have a heart to heart about things...Alec comes to certain realizations. But will he follow through on them?
> 
> Meanwhile, Magnus is alone at his loft, having just about given up on everything, but then some well-timed visits hopefully start to change all of that...

_Upstairs at the Institute_

Isabelle had just finished running up the stairs, after seeing Lex, Mags, and Magnus off.

She smiled to herself. 

Wow, she couldn’t believe the reaction Mags had. Now that was how she expected a warlock to throw down. She couldn’t help but be proud of him.

And Magnus – ever so gracious, had decided to help to save their relationship. 

_Lex and Mags. _

Lex, who had initially seemed like the ultimate arrogant diva. And yet, he was the Inverted self of her brother, so he still had redeeming qualities within him. 

And it seemed like he was fated to be with Mags – from day 1.

So…that should have meant that there was a parallel in this world as well – that her big brother Alec and Magnus in this world should be fated as well.

Except that in actuality, living one’s life abiding by the Rules of the Clave was a lot more complicated than that.

Not to mention, Lex’s upbringing and Alec’s upbringing couldn’t have been more different. 

Alec was brought up to be the perfect soldier for the Clave – the resolute Shadowhunter, to live for missions, to then settle down and marry a Shadowhunter girl and to breed more Shadowhunters. 

That’s why he was engaged to marry Lydia Branwell the day after tomorrow. Isabelle had been opposed to this, but Alec had kept insisting that he wanted it. And so in the end, she wanted whatever he wanted.

But…she also thought Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, was perfect for her brother. 

As it was, Magnus was already (unfortunately) infatuated with her brother, who was the most clueless person imaginable.

And _deeply_ in the closet. 

She sighed.

She loved the idea of them two together and would forever ship the idea of the two of them as a potential couple.

However, after awhile one just had to accept reality.

Alec would probably just go ahead, follow orders, and end up marrying Lydia Branwell the day after tomorrow. Then end up living as a shadow of himself for the rest of his life, just to please his parents, and the Clave.

The whole thing made Isabelle extremely anxious and wanting to tear her hair out in frustration. If only she could make her brother see reason and convince him to follow his heart.

His heart led to Magnus. Despite his absolute refusal to acknowledge that there wasn’t anything there, she could feel the chemistry and tension between them every time they were in a room together. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

But he would keep denying it. And so she stopped believing.

But this thing about what they were saying before about Mags and him -- that Alec had tried to kiss him before, causing him to react nervously by zapping him with his magic --

_She wondered how true that had been. _

It certainly must had been_ something_ \-- for Mags to react as he did…

She intended to find out as soon as he woke up.

…………………….

It turned out that Isabelle did not need to wait long. 

When she got back to the room, Alec was sitting up in bed, scratching his head in confusion. 

“How did I end up here?” he asked, confused. He looked around.

Isabelle looked at him. “Uh, how much do you remember?” she asked, looking at him carefully. She sat down next to him.

Alec wrinkled his nose. I’m…actually not really sure,” he said uncertainly. “I may need a minute or two.”

“Were you…in the training room with…Mags, perhaps?” Isabelle hedged.

“Mags?” Alec asked. Then his eyes took on a look of awareness. “Right! I was training him in skills, since I had suggested that he glamour himself to look like a Shadowhunter so I could let him stay here. His fighting skills, boy they were a lot better than I expected...” He whistled at that. 

He seemed deep in thought as he attempted to remember the events from that day. 

Suddenly, his eyes widened. “By the Angel,” he breathed. “I didn’t…uh he didn’t’…we didn’t’ – did we?”

He looked panicked.

“You didn’t…what?” Isabelle said.

“At least I don’t think we did,” Alec mused, almost as if he was talking to himself. “But did I? I think I did…didn’t I. Just _whoa_. I can't believe I actually did that.” 

He stopped rambling just then, suddenly breathing hard, while looking intensely at the floor, his hazel eyes troubled.

Isabelle looked at her brother. “Alec, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Alec continued looking at the floor. “I…think I remember trying to kiss...Mags. I don't know what came over me, but it was almost as if I couldn't control it, that I felt compelled to do so. And then I was hit -- by blue magic,” he admitted.

Isabelle’s eyes widened. 

_Wow, she never thought he would admit it!_ she thought.

For some reason, something inside her wanted to start cheering. 

Was there actually hope for her brother yet? 

"I mean, I don't think he intended to hit me...that the magic was intentional. It was more reactive..." Alec said slowly, squinting as he tried to remember more. His head was still a bit fuzzy though, given all that happened. 

“Well,” Isabelle said. “It’s not that surprising – if you did indeed try to initiate it, you know. Mags is great. And he’s super cute, and sweet…”

"But it's wrong, I've known it was wrong my whole life," Alec said.

"But how can it be wrong, if it's who you are?" Isabelle questioned. "And haven't we had this discussion before, more than once?"

Alec sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I know, I know!" he said, closing his eyes in frustration

"And god, it was crazy how much I was drawn to him," he mumbled. "The only other comparable time was during that night when Jace asked me to go help Magnus save Luke, and he asked for my strength, and I just felt like I couldn't be anywhere else, that my purpose was just to be right there, helping him, and to be there with him..." 

He trailed off.

"Well, Mags is a really good guy, isn't he," Isabelle said softly. 

“Yea, he is,” Alec admitted, turning to look at her. A small smile tugged at his lips. “Mags. He was so considerate. He actually listened, he had no pretenses, and he was honest. He listened, and he was full of good advice. He was easy to be with." 

Alec seemed to be contemplating something. "In fact, he was easy to be with, in _every_ way --"

"That our Magnus isn't?" Isabelle asked gently.

Alec blinked, still seeming confused.

"Well, yea," he sighed. "Magnus, he is everything that Mags isn't. And he is so confusing, and so in the moment, has no filter, and is just so very forward, you can’t even tell when he’s being serious or not --"

"And yet," Isabelle persisted. "Isn't Mags _just _Magnus, just in a different dimension? As you've said, like Lex is to you?"

That seemed to give Alec pause. "You're right," he said slowly, as he came to that realization. "For some reason, I never put two and two together like that..."

He and Isabelle shared a look.

"You know, you were passed out for awhile," Isabelle said. "Magnus was the one who brought you out of this."

"He was?" Alec asked, surprised. Well, he really shouldn't be surprised by that, Magnus was such a powerful warlock, he would know how to reverse anything.

"But in order to heal you, he had to know what happened," Isabelle said.

Alec looked at her, feeling confused again.

"Wait," he said. "I don't get it. How did he end up finding out -- and wait, you know, don't you? How did you find out --"

"Mags. Mags told him," Isabelle said bluntly. "He really didn't want to, but if he hadn't, Magnus wouldn't have been able to come up with the nullifying spell."

Alec's heart dropped. 

As much as his feelings were all confuddled and messed up -- about Lydia and the wedding, about Mags, and _especially_ about Magnus -- the last thing he wanted was to hurt anyone, even unintentionally. _He felt horrible._

Isabelle saw the look on her brother's face -- it was full of regret and anguish. 

Her heart went out to him. 

Clueless as he was, Alec had a big heart. 

She knew this, even as he was compelled to hide himself and the person he was because of the Clave…

"_Magnus,"_ he finally choked out. "_Did Magnus_ \--"

"Magnus did the spell, but he didn't take the news too well. He ran out shortly afterwards. And I can't say I blame him," Isabelle said. "After all, you are probably still going to abide by what the Clave dictates -- to be a Shadowhunter -- and go through with the wedding, right? Even though you've made it clear that you did have feelings for Mags. Which means you definitely have feelings for Magnus, and pretty much admitted that there is potential there, just that he was fronting too much for you to really get to know him, right?"

Alec winced. It was just like his sister to put all the cards on the table like that for him.

"I don't know how not to be a Shadowhunter," Alec stated plaintively. "It's what everyone is expecting from me. You -- pretty much gave them all the finger on that, so they don't have that expectation from you --"

"Gee, thanks for that," Isabelle said in a sour voice.

"Come on, you know what I mean," Alec argued. "I always admired the way you could do that. It was just never ingrained into me. Duty first was what I heard, what was reinforced from the very start. That being loyal to the Clave, family, and loyalties come first..."

"Even at the cost of being yourself?" Isabelle asked softly. 

"I am all of those things," Alec said resolutely. “I believe in all of those things.”

“Nothing you have said just now has even begun to describe to me the person whom you truly are. And that has bothered me for a long time," Isabelle admitted. "That's fine if you totally agree with everything that they have told you - our parents, the Clave, everyone. However, you are also withholding a lot of who you actually are. And that part I don't agree with."

Right, that Alec was gay. 

And gay Shadowhunters were seen as an abomination by the Clave...

"So what do I end up doing? I cannot just give up my life, what I was brought up to be, just to chase a foolish dream, or to be who I truly am -- it would cost me everything, and I would have nothing," Alec lamented.

"That's not true. You would still have us -- me, Jace, Max - you would have your freedom to be who you are, to think as you think. You have your friends. And Magnus. You could _be_ with Magnus --" 

Isabelle paused just then. 

"Well, actually," she continued, her voice getting softer. "I'm not sure about that part, as of right now, especially with how Magnus ran out, after Mags confessed what happened between you two. He was pretty _devastated_..."

_Angel,_ Alec thought, wincing as a painful twinge hit his heart. _Magnus…_

With wide, regretful eyes, Alec turned to Isabelle.

"You have to believe me Izzy," Alec pleaded. "I didn't mean to instigate any of this --"

His shoulders slumped, and he stared at the floor in front of him.

"Of course you didn’t mean to, big brother," Isabelle said, her tone softening.

Walking over, she sat next to him on the bed and put a hand on his forearm. He turned to look at her, his eyes red-rimmed..

"I don't think I'm the person that needs to get that apology, do you?" Isabelle said softly.

Alec shook his head slowly. "This is a lot to think about. I need some time to myself..."

"Of course," Isabelle said gently. "But you are getting married the day after tomorrow. So don't take too long to think..."

She leaned over and gave Alec a kiss on the cheek. "Just know that whatever you decide, I am here for you. Always, big brother," she said softly. She got up from the bed, and walked out of the room, leaving Alec to his own devices.

Once she walked out of the room, and closed the door, she leaned her head against the door.

Please, she thought. Please let Alec come to the right decision. She didn't want to see her brother destroy his own life.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She clicked on the display. Surprisingly, it was a message from Mags. “Operation Soulmates – we need your help. Meet at Magnus’s loft!”

Isabelle furrowed her brow as she contemplated this. Then she shrugged. Not like she had anything else going on tonight. It was certainly intriguing enough! She did love a good mission – of any kind.

She might as well see what they were planning.

…………………………………

_Meanwhile, at the loft in Brooklyn_

Magnus, dressed in his favorite dark blue velvet robe – and not much else underneath, as he liked to be comfortable when home by himself -- sat in his favorite armchair by the French doors next to his balcony, facing his favorite view of all – the New York City skyline. 

In his hand, he held a glass of his finest Scotch – the one that he and Lex had toasted with, when Lex had first appeared to him that day.

Usually the calm sight of the skyline would cheer him up. But right now, it was not working one bit. He could not get rid of the thoughts in his head. 

How was it, that he was always the one who ended up alone?

Not that he had wanted Lex. Lex was great and all, but he knew he never occupied his heart the way Alec did. And besides, Lex had always been Mags’s soulmate from the very start.

He didn’t regret helping them out with everything. It had been the right thing to do. And Magnus Bane prided himself on being useful to those around him.

But ultimately it had left him _alone._

So much had changed since that day. 

Back then, he had still thought he had a chance with Alec.

And now…he did not have Lex, and he definitely did not have Alec.

He was such a fool, always falling in love with the wrong people. When would he ever learn??

Whoosh! A fire message flew toward him. 

Nope, not accepting messages now. He flicked his wrist – _Returned to sender_

Five minutes later, yet another one came forth. Not interested…

_Flick!_ Returned.

He really didn’t want to be bothered.

But wait –

The air in front of him was _changing._ Slowly a vortex emerged, developing into a portal – in fact very similar to the ones he created –

His eyes widened, as magic flowed to his fingertips.

_WHAT –_

Who dared to breach his wards? And _dared_ to portal straight into his loft?

But wait…he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity as the portal finished developing and started to open –

The magical signature was as familiar to him as his own. 

Because it was his own --!

But that must mean –

Lo and behold, Lex stepped out of the portal, holding hands with Mags.

“Hey, Magnus,” Mags said, almost sheepishly. His alter. Who was actually looking less than Marcel the Shadowhunter at the moment – his dark blue wavy hair and his shimmery dark blue suit was back – the look he initially had when he had first arrived in the Shadow World. He must have switched it back shortly after they had parted. 

Magnus nodded at him.

Then he noticed Lex’s hazel eyes scrutinizing him.

“You okay?” Lex asked softly. “You don’t seem so good, darling. And you’re…drinking alone.” 

His brows furrowed in concern.

Despite his current mood, Magnus couldn’t help breaking into a smile. At least there were two individuals here, who actually did sincerely care about how he was feeling now. He wouldn’t take that for granted. 

Truthfully he was even rather grateful for this –

“I’m definitely better, now that you are both here,” he said, snapping away the glass. He didn’t need that Scotch right now. Instead, he snapped in three Lychee martinis, a bit lighter on the palette. “This is a really good one. Please sit, and enjoy,” he said in a dulcet tone of voice to the both of them. 

They both took their Martinis with a thanks and a smile, as they sat in their respective armchairs.

Magnus was puzzled. “Shouldn’t you two be back home in your own dimension right about now?” he asked, sipping at the Lychee Martini delicately.

“Well, not that I’m not glad to see you two. I feel the closest to the both of you, out of everyone right now,” he admitted.

“We couldn’t leave, since we have unfinished business,” Mags said, as Lex nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh? And you need my help, right?” Magnus said, leaning forward in his seat. It felt good, knowing that he was needed. Perhaps he could just put everything out of his mind while helping out with things…

“Well, actually,” Lex drawled, taking Mags’s hand and squeezing it, earning an affectionate look from Mags, “You are our unfinished business.” 

What? Magnus looked at the both of them. 

“Me?” he sputtered, shocked by the declaration. But Mags was also nodding. 

“Yes, you are, Magnus,” Mags said. “We call it Operation Soulmates. It’s our intention –”

Magnus raised up one hand. “Hold up,” he said. “I’m happy things worked out for you two. But that’s you two. Just because the two of you got together, it doesn’t mean –”

“Of course it means what it means!” Mags interjected. “All that time, when Alec and I were hanging out together, I could tell, he was trying to find ways to connect with _me_ on some level…which meant that he was trying to get to know _you_. If you haven’t noticed already, we ARE the same person, after all.”

Magnus’s heart stilled, as he looked at the both of them. “He was?” he asked hesitantly.

Mags nodded. “And he’s really shy, so the way you normally are, wearing amazing clothes, being a huge flirt, well, yes that’s you. And trust me, I get the feeling that he finds that extremely appealing, so definitely _don’t_ change that aspect of yourself.. But it also scares him on some level. Remember, this is a straight laced – well I shouldn’t use that particular word straight, since he’s definitely NOT straight --” 

Mags stopped momentarily, giggling to himself. Even Lex had started cracking up.

Magnus couldn’t help smiling either. 

Once Mags had calmed down somewhat, he continued. 

“Just saying, I think you probably do overwhelm him, and he just felt like he needed you a bit more toned down to be a bit more approachable to some extent,” he said.

“Hmm,” Magnus said, holding his Martini, as he contemplated those words.

“But,” Lex cut in, “We have a plan, to try to get you two together to at least talk.”

“So what’s the idea?” Magnus asked. His curiosity was certainly piqued. 

Just then there was a knock on the door. Hmm, Magnus was not expecting anyone…

But the wards weren’t indicating the visitor presented a threat to him.... He flicked his wrist. 

“Enter,” he said.

The loft doors opened. It was Isabelle Lightwood.

“Izzy?” Magnus said, confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Ah, the lady we wanted to see,” Lex drawled. Mags tittered.

“Mags invited me,” Isabelle said, walking in. “What’s this I hear about some Operation?”

“Oh, _that_,” Mags said, slightly embarrassed. “ That was just something Lex and I made up – we were talking about getting Magnus and Alec together, since they are obviously meant to be together.”

Isabelle immediately threw herself into vacant loveseat across from all three of them. “Now, we’re talking,” she declared.

She turned to Magnus. “Sorry, Magnus, my brother is _so_ dense, “she apologized. “You know, I’ve totally been in favor of you two since forever,” she said. 

She opened her arms wide to give him a hug.

Aww, so sweet, Magnus thought, as he returned her hug. Isabelle was the best…

Soon all four were sitting across from one another, having Martinis, and discussing what to do.

“Well,” Lex said. “I was thinking Bachelor Party, since Alec is still supposedly getting married.” He looked at Isabelle. “Were you thinking of planning something like that?”

Isabelle shrugged. “Yea, I guess it was defaulting to me, “ she said. “But I hadn’t even gotten around to it, yet. I was going to ask around for ideas.”

“Well,” Lex drawled, “Then consider it your lucky day that you ran into a Party Planner. I’ve actually planned quite a few bachelor parties in my heyday…”

Isabelle stared at Lex. “Oh, wow,” she breathed. “It _is _my lucky day.” 

She scrutinized him closely. “Yea, you definitely seem the type to be a Party Planner too. I bet you are really meticulous about things, right? Like everything needs to be in place, just like your hair –”

“You’re not starting up again about that, are you?” Lex asked incredulously, his voice almost about to go into a whine.

Isabelle laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” she said.

Lex continued staring at her. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Mags. 

Mags smiled softly at him. And Lex decided that he could let this one go…

“Okay,” Lex said, leaning in a bit. Everyone followed suit.

“So I’m thinking good food, champagne, and strippers –”

“Uh, female or male strippers?” Magnus asked curiously. 

“Well, actually maybe the supporting group can be mixed – men and female. As long as they can dance and follow instruction…I was actually thinking about the main attraction…being _YOU_,” Lex said, his eyes intensely focused on Magnus.

Magnus looked flabbergasted. “Uh, what?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Isabelle was grinning her ear off. 

“By the Angel, I _love_ it,” she stated happily. “What a _great_ idea! We should definitely work on this asap, you and me, Lex. Also Mags and Magnus, to help us get everything.”

“Uh, you’ve lost us,” both Mags and Magnus said together, looking at one another, thoroughly confused.

“No worries, darling,” Lex said to both of them, “I’ll clue you in. This is going to be a Bachelor Party that Alec is _never_ going to forget…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 to come!


	9. The Key To Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There appears to be a few things on Alec's agenda today -- he needs to meet Lydia for the wedding rehearsal this morning.
> 
> And...apparently Isabelle had _just_ invited him to some party taking place somewhere this afternoon.  
  
But first things first -- Alec ultimately decides he needs to have a talk with Lydia. 
> 
> Will Alec end up panicking and shying away from the situation, or will he finally have the courage to follow his heart?

_Earlier that morning, in Ops_

Alec, dressed in black Shadowhunter attired from head to toe, walked determinedly into Ops. 

“Have you seen Lydia?” he asked tersely.

People shook their heads. 

“Are you looking for her to talk about the wedding rehearsal? Because I think they were fixing up her hair in the back rooms,” one Shadowhunter said helpfully.

“Ok, thanks,” Alec said, as he made his way to the back rooms of the Institute. 

He walked down the hallways, room after room after room. 

Finally he saw Lydia, sitting in a chair with a female Shadowhunter adjusting her braid and hair, and another pinning up her dress for the wedding.

Lydia looked ever the vision -- calm, collected, beautiful….

…and completely _wrong_ for him.

_Or was she? _

_By the Angel, was he making a huge mistake? _

“Lydia,” Alec managed to get out, amidst confusion starting to emerge in his head.’

He’s not sure what he’s going to say. Or what he means…

Was it too late to back out…now? Maybe they could just go on with it? Play the role. Live the dream…

Just like they had planned to do. _No one would be the wiser._ And he would have saved the family name.

Not to mention running an Institute together. _The end would have justified the means..._

Could he give all of that up?

He shouldn't, right?

He should really just turn around and walk away, letting things go as planned. Forget even this silly notion of _what ifs..._

After all, it would be only him that would bear the brunt of things. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to the situation already --- he was used to being second, to be ever sacrificing, while everyone ended up happy --

It wasn't a completely _terrible_ position to be in --

Lydia then swiveled the chair to face him.

Her eyes gazed directly into his. 

The words flew out of his head as he stared at her.

_This wasn't the face he wanted to be looking into, for the rest of his life..._

And then he realized, from looking at the expression on her face - that she knew what he was going to say. 

His mouth suddenly went dry.

“Alec,” she said. 

Her voice was a bit clipped, but her eyes sympathetic. And she was trying to smile, despite the awkwardness of the situation.

They just stared at one another.

……

_Later that afternoon_

His feelings still mixed from earlier in the day, Alec now found himself staring at a fire message he had caught in mid-air just a few hours ago.

It was from Isabelle. 

_Now what was this about?_ he wondered. He glanced down at it.

_Don’t be late! We're having a bachelor party this downstairs this afternoon! But I will meet you upstairs first. Sorry this is a Mundane tradition, you can blame Lex for this! _

Alec groaned. _A bachle-what?_ These freaking Mundanes...

_Angel,_ and that one_ \-- Lex --_ was involved with this? he thought, crossly. _ Just great..._

As if he wanted to talk to the one who had stepped in and uprooted his normal routine! That was the _last_ person he wanted to run into...

Of course, Lex had messed up some other very significant thing(s) in his life. But he was not going to dwell on _him_ – ahem, those things – right now. 

Oh, great, now he couldn’t even _think s_traight because now Lex was in his thoughts. _Arghh._

He gritted his teeth.

Oh well. Might as well get this over with, whatever it was, he thought, annoyed. 

He marched resolutely down one hallway, down another hallway, and then turned the bend.

Isabelle was right where she said she would be. She was dressed rather nicely, in a two color, red and white broad striped dress. And her hair was half down half up in a topknot. 

“Big brother!” You made it!” she said cheerfully.

“What’s this all about?” he asked.

“You’ll find out,” she promised. “But first, I need to blindfold you…”

He sighed. “Really, Izzy?” he asked exasperated. But he turned around, and allowed her to do that.

Then she took his hand, and put one arm around his waist, and slowly led him down the stairs.

He finally reached the final step. He was being led somewhere, and finally guided toward sitting down on some chair or bench. 

Suddenly some suggestive sounding music started up. 

Stlll blindfolded, he suddenly felt a hand caress him on the knee. He yelped, jumping nearly a foot in midair.

In the background, he heard Lex’s voice saying, “I didn’t think he was going to react like that!”

_Enough!_

Impatiently, Alec tore off the blindfold.

In front of him was eight individuals in total -- tall beautiful men and aesthestically pleasing women -- dressed In black, mesh and silver outfits, dancing slowly and moving suggestively around him. Strobe lights rotated around the room, making Alec squint against the glare. 

He was sitting in the center of 8 red chairs arranged in a semicircle around him.

The 8 dancers started moving around him, brushing part of their hands, torso, and hips against him -- before going back to their respective chairs, kicking up their legs and moving their legs around each chair, and each other -- in ways that would make anyone blush.

His eyes widened. 

_Alec didn’t even want to watch this, or to do this anymore..._

Isabelle suddenly swung around from the back, her head close to his ear. 

“Welcome to your bachelor party, big brother,” she cooed.

Bewildered at all the sudden commotion around him, he turned to face Isabelle -- who had Lex and Mags on either side of them. _So they were ALL involved with this???_

“Uh…thanks?” he stated uncertainly, looking from Izzy, to Mags, and then to Lex. 

Lex was a bit confused. How come Alec wasn’t reacting? If not at the scantily clad women, but at the scantily clad _MEN!_

There are _MEN _here, Alec! he wanted to scream into his skull_. Men! _

And in fact, not that Lex was going to advertise this right now, but he may have joined one or two for drinks – the men – actually, so he knew they were really _cool_ guys. Not to mention _HOT_. 

He had impeccable taste after all. 

But Alec was also _HIM!_ So what was going on? He didn’t get it.

Then the music stopped, which got everyone’s attention.

The spotlight then swung toward the far corner where the stairwell was. 

And suddenly there appeared Magnus -- slowly sauntering toward them in a predatory way.

Or rather,_ toward_ Alec. 

His eyes were done in gold and black winged eyeliner, with a glossy lip, and he was in a gold skintight top with a plunging vneck which exposed his chest and abs. His bottoms were matching gold hot pants with thigh-high fishnet stockings held by glittery garter belts on both sides.

Stiletto gold heels completed the look, along with a gold glitter police cap.

Magnus…looked _out of this world..._

Alec appeared frozen, rooted to the spot. But his hazel eyes were fixated…on _Magnus._

“Whoa,” Isabelle breathed. 

She turned to Lex, whose jaw had also dropped. At least for the first few seconds. Then he shook his head as if to clear it. 

Quickly he glanced at Mags, who was just staring at Magnus, and hadn’t noticed Lex’s reaction to Magnus. 

Lex breathed a sigh of relief. Lex hadn’t meant to stare at Magnus like that. Especially with what had gone down the other day…

“Did you tell Magnus to dress like that?” she asked.

Lex huffed, “As if Magnus would take orders from anyone….and no, I don’t think I could have come up with _that_. I just told Magnus, be ready to make your best impression. Damn, he exceeded my expectations, alright,” he said.

Mags walked up to him. 

“Magnus,” he mused. “A natural spectacle, if I ever seen one. Daaaaamn,” he said, whistling appreciatively. “I need to take notes…”

Alec's eyes were fixated on Magnus as he sauntered closer and closer to him. Part of Alec wanted to turn away, and even run away -- but he just couldn’t. His eyes hungrily roved over Magnus’s entire form, despite himself. 

Magnus – in this outfit – was completely over the top, completely throwing himself out there ---and Alec could not tear his eyes away.

Magnus finally stood in front of Alec, still dancing a bit. He moved closer toward him and his lap, putting up one leg on the left side of Alec, resting it firmly on the bench that Alec was sitting on. It seemed like he was ready to give Alec a lap dance as part of the bachelor party festivities. 

Well, this was what bachelor parties were made of, right? And Magnus intended to give him a show. 

“Well, hello here,” Magnus purred. “It’s really too bad you are getting married tomorrow. But as of right now, you are _mine_, at least while we are down here…”

Taking one perfectly manicured hand, he took his hat, and tossed it to the side. 

Then he started to move closer to Alec, his hand about to touch his face --

And this whole thing might have been fine and all – well, besides Alec being _so deep in the closet_ that it might not outwardly even have an effect..

Or that it might have even resulted in the poor boy bolting out of the room right about now. 

Except that….things had changed. 

On Alec’s side, that is. 

_But no one knew this yet…_

Flashes of the conversation Alec had with Lydia in that dressing room earlier this morning went through Alec’s mind. 

He set his jaw firm, pushed that aside, and he looked directly at Magnus.

Magnus seemed to freeze slightly upon such a searching gaze from Alec. It was so open and unarmed, he didn’t know what to do with it. 

He hesitated, and then he seemed to shake his head slightly. 

That’s when Alec saw it. 

Magnus was not happy. 

His eyes were contemplative. Even…_sad._

But Magnus continued to give Alec his most _winningest _smile. He started to lean in, shoving his body toward him --

But now even Alec could see that Magnus’s smile looked kinda forced.

_That did it._

Before Alec knew what was happening, both his arms had shot out to grab Magnus by his forearms, to stop him from advancing. 

Magnus immediately stilled, his happy expression dropping in favor of something curious. 

_Something serious.._

The look in Alec’s eyes made Magnus's breath hitch. 

This wasn't supposed to happen, was it? Magnus thought. He was supposed to dance, and be all over Alec! 

He started babbling, for lack of anything else to say --

“Um, I’m not supposed to stop like this. This is a bachelor party element – me. I’m here to dance for you…or so they tell me. But, um, you aren’t supposed to touch me, that’s the rule –"

“Wait,” Alec said abruptly.

Magnus stopped talking, but his eyes remained on him.

“I want to talk to you. Really talk. But not like this. Or while doing _this,_" he added in a more resolute tone of voice, gesturing toward the hair and outfit.

Magnus stilled. He was rendered speechless. But he slowly nodded.

"Uh..okay?" he stated.

Of course Alec’s eyes couldn’t help but rove over Magnus’s outfit and body once again. The man was a certifiable SNACK, he thought. And this outfit was made to be drooled over, stared at, even ripped off -- 

_He couldn’t take his eyes off of it ---_

_This was too much of a distraction! _

Not a good thing for what he wanted to accomplish ---

Mentally, all sides of him were now fighting for dominance. He shuddered, then told all but _one _to go shut down for the night…

Sighing heavily, and now with his rationale side back in place, Alec averted his eyes as he spoke to Magnus.

"Uh can you put something else on? this is way too distracting right now," he managed to get out, his voice choking at the end.

Magnus had had a half-smirk on his face prior to all of this. But, now hearing this simple request, his expression changed to one of empathy, and his brown eyes turned soft.

He nodded. “Okay,” he said slowly.

Magnus waved his hand diffidently over his body. His outfit turned into a flowy mulberry tunic over jeans – the very same outfit he was wearing when they were trying to save Luke’s life at the loft. 

Alec’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing the outfit. 

"That's better," Alec said, relieved. 

A genuinely shy smile bloomed onto his face as he lifted his eyes to Magnus’s face. 

Magnus just stared at Alec. Alec was giving him that beautiful smile he had seen on the Shadowhunter on the first day they met. 

_This Shadowhunter was so incredibly beautiful...._

Alec hopped off the bench he was sitting on. 

"Come," he said simply, holding out his hand. Magnus looked at him searchingly for a moment, then took it, his cheeks pink. 

"Uh, could you turn on the lights? I need to take care of something important – now. We’ll just be over there. Excuse us," Alec said to everyone in the room. 

Wordlessly, Mags flicked his wrist, and the lights came on. 

The dancers looked at one another, completely confused. 

Lex looked annoyed, and then confused as well. 

Mags, Lex, and Isabelle watched as Alec led Magnus, hand in hand, toward a corner of the room. 

They looked at one another. 

"Well, that didn't exactly go as how I had planned," Lex said, scratching his head.

Mags looked after them, and then a dreamy look settled in his eyes. 

“No, that sure was unexpected,” he breathed. “But in a good way.” 

He smiled.

………………………..

Alec continued walking forward, mindful of the way Magnus’s slightly smaller, elegant ringed fingers entwined with his.

He felt like he was walking on air, a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Finally they were by the large windowsill. He turned to Magnus.

“Uh, why don’t we sit here,” he said gruffly.

“Okay,” Magnus said, some confusion still on his face as he sat down, folding his legs under him. He had also pulled back his hand from Alec's when he had sat down, and now had both hands in his lap. He felt a bit awkward at this new situation and did not know quite what to do.

Alec then sat down, and shifted himself so he was sitting right across from the warlock, their knees just touching.

His eyes flitted down to the warlock’s hands, which were nearly folded in his own lap.

For some reason, Alec found it very cute. He smiled then. 

Which made the warlock smile.

_Angel,_ he’s adorable, as well as gorgeous. _Alec never stood a chance, did he?_

He shook his head ruefully.

He sighed, as he turned his hazel eyes upon Magnus. Then he reached over and took one of the warlock’s hands in his. Magnus looked up at him with wide eyes, but now he just looked really shy. 

“Well, this whole thing was awkward, wasn’t it,” the warlock demurred, slightly looking away from Alec. He felt a bit embarrassed by the whole thing.

“It was strange,” Alec admitted. “But I get it. Their hearts were in the right place.” 

“I was ready to give you the best lap dance of your life, though, just so you know,” Magnus said thoughtfully.

“Oh?” Alec felt his cheeks flame up. “I’m’ actually not sure I would have _survived_ that. As it was, I could barely see you past all that gold you were wearing. You already shine so brightly on your own, even without such sensational clothes. You are a lot of things that I’m not quite used to,” he admitted, grimacing slightly. “But that’s not your fault, I’m just not experienced…”

“And…I should have just contacted you directly, and told you that Lydia and I broke it off,” he continued.

Magnus’s eyes widened.

“Come again?” he said incredulously.

“We decided to call it off. We aren’t getting married,” Alec said sheepishly.

“And when did this happen?” The warlock was still blinking as if he didn’t believe it. He fiddled with his earcuff nervously.

“Uh, earlier today,” Alec said, with an expression on his face indicating he was still trying to remember the exact time of day that it happened.

“So...you mean to tell me that we may have orchestrated this whole thing -- for _nothing_?” Magnus asked incredulously.

Alec looked chagrined.

“Weeeeeell, for what it’s worth, even though it was really shiny and gold and really blinding, I did like how you looked in that outfit,” Alec volunteered shyly. “Maybe you can try that outfit again, at another time, and in a_ less_ public place…?”

Magnus’s eyes brightened, and then darkened. 

“Oh really_, Shadowhunter_,” he purred all of a sudden. 

And suddenly his hotness level was through the roof. 

Alec gulped. How did Magnus manage to do that in 0-60 seconds flat?

Then Magnus sat up and smiled. 

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you decided to finally accept who you are. That’s all everyone wanted for you…” he said honestly. 

“Even you?” Now Alec’s head was moving closer to Magnus’s. 

His hazel eyes were spellbinding. Magnus couldn’t look away.

“Yes, _especially_ me,” Magnus whispered, just before Alec’s lips met his…

……………………….

_Meanwhile…at the so-called Bachelor party that was no longer happening -- at the other end of the room_

Three very confused individuals stood around, still talking.

"Weeeeeell," Mags said, "You wanted to bring them together to talk right? Well, they're doing that right now. I'd say it was a success..."

"Well, hot damn," Isabelle said, pursing her lips, "We put together this whole show, and it was going to be amazing -- for it to just stop dead just like this! I'm actually kinda disappointed.."

"Me too," Lex groused, folding his arms against his chest. "Not one of my more successful ventures..."

Both Isabelle and Lex were now sulking, standing next to one another.

"Oh my god, for once you two are in agreement" Mags said, laughing. “Finally, I can see the family resemblance!” he added in jest.

Both Isabelle and Lex threw a mock glare at him nearly simultaneously, as if offended. Then huge grins came upon their faces. They all doubled over in laughter.

Mags looked up after awhile, and happened to catch something. Nudging both Isabelle and Lex, he gestured toward the corner of the room. 

“Psst…look," he said, pointing over to the far end of the room

Alec and Magnus were sitting across from one another by the large windowsill, their heads close together, talking, with their knees touching one another. Magnus reached up toward his ear to fiddle with his earcuff, while Alec reached over and took one of Magnus’s hands in his. 

Magnus didn’t look away. 

Their gazes were intent upon one another as they talked, as if they had completely forgotten that three very curious individuals were in the same room with them, just a few yards away…

Then they slowly leaned in toward one another – their lips meeting in a sweet kiss..

“Well, yaaaay,” Isabelle whispered, sighing as she cheered quietly – craning her head to see more of the action.

“God, we are worse that peeping Toms,” Lex said good-naturedly, as he attempted to do the same.

“Oh, you guys,” Mags said affectionately. “We’re just suckers for happy endings, right?”

All three of them sighed contently, as they watched the pair kiss tenderly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 to come!


	10. Where We Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All too soon, it is time for Lex and Mags to return back to their world. 
> 
> But first, the gang gathers together once more...

_A few days later_

The air shimmered within the foyer of Magnus’s loft…

Then a portal swirled open – and Alec and Magnus walked out, hand in hand.

“Boy that was something, wasn’t it?” Magnus said. Together, they were holding two large shopping bags with the name of a French pastry shop logo on them.. “Whirlwind trip to Paris. That was certainly productive, indeed.”

Alec was grinning ear to ear, flustered, yet with an incredulous look on his face as he faced Magnus. “Right…we went to Paris for two days, for what you quoted was for an important mission. Which ended up being a tour of the city…and then – the ultimate reason for the trip -- _ croissants_. Really, Magnus? Couldn’t you have just summoned them locally?” he asked, raking an eyebrow, not displeased.

Magnus stopped in his tracks, turning to Alec.

“Well,” he said, “This is my favorite bakery in all of Paris, and as you know we have brunch with friends in a few hours. After all, Lex and Mags need to leave today; the portal I had been helping Mags with in the past few days, to transport them back , will be ready in a few hours. So only the best for our friends to see them off, wouldn’t you agree, darling?”

Alec nodded. “Of course,” he agreed.

Then a flush appeared across Magnus’s cheeks. 

“I have to admit,” he added in a kittenish tone of voice, “it was my excuse to bring you briefly to Paris with me. You had been on missions the last couple of days, and I’ve been busy as well. With everything that has happened up until now, I didn’t want to lose the momentum. I felt like some quality time was in order. I hope you didn’t mind…”

Alec’s cheeks grew warm as he recalled Magnus kissing him while they were atop the Eiffel Tower, looking over the beautiful city. He had never been, prior to this – and part of him had been glad to be called away by Magnus unexpectedly. He couldn’t say that he had ever done that before, stole away from the duties of being a Shadowhunter to do things that he loved.

But now he had gotten a taste of this, thanks to Magnus, and he wanted more. 

_Oh, did he want more. _

He was so very glad to have Magnus by his side. 

And to think, he had almost thrown it all away, just to abide by Clave rules. 

No, that would not be happening again. 

He was never going to give Magnus up – or this very happiness he had found for himself…

He stepped in to take Magnus in his arms, and kissed him on the nose.

“No, not at all. It was just perfect. Thank you for whisking me away, ” he sighed. “It was just too bad that we had to get back so quickly. Perhaps next time we can go for a little bit longer?”

Magnus blinked, his glamour falling, and revealing his gold cat eyes. They were glistening, blazing as they stared back into Alec’s hazel ones. 

“Why, of course, Alexander,” Magnus said, his heart all warm and open. “I would love to take you back anytime you wish. There is still so much to explore. And there is no one else whom I would want there with him besides you…”

They both leaned in for a lingering kiss, Alec sighing into it. 

He was indeed so happy right now, with Magnus securely in his arms, his heart light, and his soul aglow.

This was true happiness.

“So…” Magnus murmured against Alec’s lips. “We do have an hour before the brunch. And as you know, setup will be a cinch. Might I recommend us moving over to the couch, Mr. Lightwood?”

“As you wish, Mr. Bane,” Alec whispered playfully. 

Laughing, both somehow made it to the couch a few feet away, and both collapsed upon it, still making out.

……………….

_Sometime later_

The pull at the wards didn’t quite register in Magnus’s head as Alec’s mouth was crushed against his as he pressed him into the couch, knees slotting perfectly in-between his legs. 

His hands were a bit clumsy, yet eager, as they threaded through his hair, completely destroying the careful style he had earlier. 

Thankfully, magic always got that fixed in a jiffy. 

Anyway, not that Magnus minded all that much about his hair getting messed up -- Alec’s fingers slightly pulling the hair along the scalp was sending dizzying sparks down his spine.

Magnus moaned loudly, as he lifted his chin to kiss his Shadowhunter even more deeply…

All too suddenly the doors of the loft opened, and both Magnus and Alec jumped in surprise.

Isabelle, Jace, and Clary were all staring. Wide-eyed. 

_At them. _

Magnus stole a quick glance at Alec, who seemed like he had attempted to smooth down his rumpled shirt to at least appear presentable, upon this sudden intrusion.

Alas, there was nothing he could do about his bedhead, which was wilder than ever.

Or his swollen red lips. 

Or the purple marks down on his neck. 

Or the fact that his shirt was completely unbuttoned and open in front.

Magnus didn’t even want to know how debauched he himself looked – being in a similar state.

Jace was the first one to blink. 

“Nice going, kids,” he said, smirking. He walked over to clap Alec on the back. 

Alec threw off his arm in a non-threatening type of gesture, but with a slight smile on his face. His cheeks were pink.

Magnus looked at Isabelle, who had a knowing yet happy grin on her face, as her eyes flitted to Alec, then him. 

“Nice going, Magnus. My big brother finally has some semblance of a normal personal life, thanks to you. And he’s finally acting _human_, for once. From the look of things, it’s going quite well.”

Her gaze had gone straight to Alec’s face and then to his neck, where the purple bruises were.

Magnus saw Alec’s face redden. 

“Shut up, Izzy,” Alec muttered, with a tinge of brotherly affection in his voice. 

Meanwhile, Clary, who was just hanging back, observing the exchange taking place in front of them, has an inquisitive look on her face.

“Uh, this is the right time for the brunch, right?” she asked hesitantly. 

Alec coughed, looking askance at Magnus, as Magnus felt the back of his neck grow warm. 

“Uh, yea. Actually you guys are all on time, Biscuit,” he said sheepishly, a bit embarrassed at being called out. 

Clary started grinning widely, before breaking out into a huge guffaw. Magnus wrinkled his nose in distaste as the three Shadowhunters in front of him started cracking up. 

“Fine, laugh at us,” he said dryly. 

He glanced over at Alec, who rolled his eyes in response. Then his gaze turned soft, as his warm hazel eyes took in his face, before traveling lower to his chest, which was bare as a result of his shirt having been unbuttoned during their makeout session. 

Magnus saw his eyes darken as Alec’s gaze lingered upon him.

“Oh, c’mon guys, enough already! We are right here!” Jace stated, breaking the spell between them. 

They both turned to look at him, slightly stupefied. 

Next to him, Isabelle bit her lip, her dark eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Okayyy,” Clary said just then. “So, if we are on time for brunch, where is the other Alec? He is invited, right?”

Magnus nodded. “Actually, they both are – Lex and Mags,” he said.

“Uh, what did you call them?” Clary asked, a surprised look on her face.

Magnus was about to explain the thing about the alternate names to Clary, but then he felt a familiar tingling in this veins.

“Ah, speak of the devil,” he said. Then he cleared his throat. “Ahem, I mean, guests,” he amended graciously. 

A portal suddenly appeared, the quality of it as good as any that Magnus had ever devised. As it opened, Lex and Mags stepped out, hand in hand.

As soon as Lex saw Clary, his face brightened. 

“Clary!” he said. He stepped toward her, giving her a huge hug. Mags stood back and watched them with affection. Meanwhile, Alec and the rest of the group just stared at the both of them with an incredulous look on their faces.

“Now _this_ is completely surreal,” Jace said. “This would never happen between our Alec and Clary, anytime, anywhere.” 

Even Alec was observing this exchange with slight distaste on his face. Magnus nudged him with his elbow, causing Alec to turn and look at him. 

“Oh, cut them some slack,” he said. “If it wasn’t for Clary, Lex would have been completely lost in the Shadow World. He does owe a lot to her. She was the one who brought him to me, but then she had to run, or something like that…”

He paused, smiling as he recalled the events of the day.

“Oh,_ she_ was the one who brought him over to you?”

There was a catch in Alec’s voice. 

Magnus’s attention was drawn back to Alec, whose eyes were now slightly narrowed as he looked at him. He knew Alec was thinking about everything that had transpired over the past few weeks. 

“Well, if anyone could help figure out how to return him back to his world, it would’ve been _me,_ right?” Magnus surmised. “And besides, you were tied up with Clave business, and being the perfect soldier boy –”

“Okay, okay,” Alec conceded with a groan. “Don’t remind me. I was being completely horrible about things. ” He took a deep breath. What a difference a few weeks made. Now he couldn’t imagine not having Magnus at his side. “Forgive me?”

Magnus smiled. “My heart was yours from the get-go,” he reassured him. 

Lex and Clary had disengaged, and both Lex and Mags were now greeting everyone around them.

“Hey, Alec,” Mags said softly. “I’m glad everything turned out well for the both of you.”

He stuck out his hand for him to shake.

Alec took in Mags’s streaked dark blue wavy undercut style, dark blue eyeliner, and the body hugging blue suit – the outfit he had been wearing that first day they had literally bumped into one another. The look on Mags’s face was as open and as friendly as it had been from day one.

Alec owed him so much…

Impulsively, he pulled him into a hug. He felt Mags flinch for a second out of surprise, but then his arms came around his torso. “Listen,” Alec said in a serious tone of voice, “For what its worth, I will never forget our talks. I got to know Magnus through you –”

“Of course, Alec,” Mags responded warmly as they disengaged from one another. “I was only trying to help. I knew there were very unresolved feelings between you two –"

Alec rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling awkwardly.

“That’s an understatement,” he muttered good-naturedly. 

He then cleared his throat. 

“Also, I’m sorry I tried to kiss you,” Alec added, feeling his cheeks grow warm. “I wasn’t sure if you noticed that, but I think that’s why you reacted the way that you did? I didn’t mean –”

Mags smiled as he held up his hand toward Alec, which made him stop speaking. “It’s alright, Alec,” he said. “The attraction was definitely mutual. You did catch me by surprise though, as evidenced by my reaction.”

Alec felt his cheeks flame even more at Mags’s response. 

“But judging how things ended up between you and Magnus, I’m glad I was able to help out, even if it was in a most unconventional way,” Mags said, grinning a bit more widely now.

Alec couldn’t help snorting in response.

“Yea, it was certainly unconventional, I’ll say,” he said lightly. 

Meanwhile, Magnus had come over to them both. “Did Alec just snort before laughing?” he said curiously, his wide growing wide. 

“I did not,” Alec protested lamely. But he knew they had heard him. He exaggerated a sigh. “Okay, okay, caught…”

Magnus gave him a sidelong glance full of affection. “I’ll just group that with the other cute things you do, such as your adorable snores,” he said cheekily.

“Heeyyyy!” Alec protested. But he was grinning widely.

Magnus looped his arms around Alec and Mags, as he turned to the rest. “So, who’s hungry? One brunch with authentic Parisian croissants transported straight from Paris, coming right up!”

This was met with a resounding cheer from everyone.

……………………

After brunch, everyone was sitting or standing around and chatting. 

Alec, currently chatting with Isabelle, looked over fondly at Lex talking to Jace, whose eyes just kept bugging, and flitting between Lex and himself, as if still not believing there were two of them existing in the world. 

Lex was probably also relegating stories about Jace in the alternate world as well. 

As for Clary, she held a satisfied smile as she listened to the both of them chat – her of course having a firsthand account of their alternate selves due to her visit.

In the apothecary, it was Mags and Magnus, with their heads close together, as Magnus was showing Mags a few spells, along with some ingredients. 

It was amazing how well everyone got along with one another. 

******

All too soon, it was time for Lex and Mags to leave.

Magnus and Mags were quietly chatting, with Magnus handing over a magical pocket filled with some ingredients and some notes.

“These are for you to start out with. Since your magic is still coming back to you, it may be a challenge to summon certain things you need for certain spells. These are to tide you over in the meantime. But I trust that in time it will become easier and easier for you to find and summon things,” Magnus said.

Mags smiled. “Thank you so much for everything, this will really be helpful,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lex and Alec were off to the side, just standing next to one another

“Despite everything that happened, now I’m sorry we need to leave. This is sad.” Lex said. He was genuinely sad. 

He hated goodbyes. 

And of course, he never really disliked Alec. 

After all, how could he? They were both, essentially, the same person. Just in different universes…

Alec turned to Lex, a lopsided grin on his face. “Yea,” he said, his hazel eyes looking serene. “If it wasn’t for you guys, Magnus and I might have never gotten together.”

“Don’t say that,” Lex said. “Listen, you are stronger than you think, and I think deep down you know it. 

Alec laughed self-deprecatingly. “I wish I had even 1/10th of your confidence,” he said.

“But you do,” Lex said. “I’m you, remember? This all comes, once you accept and love the person that you are. I had the support early on, so now it comes naturally…”

Alec gazed at Lex with new respect. “The day that it does…” he breathed. “That will be so amazing.” 

Lex glanced over at Magnus and Mags, who were standing in close and chatting. 

“I have a feeling that someone over there will be integral toward that,” Lex said confidently. “He adores you. Let that guide you and be your strength, even if you don’t feel like you have it now. And also Jace and Izzy – they would support you through everything. And just know, in an alternate world, we are rooting for you guys too…”

Those remarks warmed Alec all over. “Thanks,” Alec said softly. 

They hugged.

Meanwhile, Clary had came over to where Mags and Magnus were standing together. 

“Mags, I can’t thank you enough for the help with my mom,” she said softly, giving Mags a huge hug. “When I first entered the Alternate Universe, everything was so weird and I was afraid. But then I saw you on that commercial –”

She paused as Magnus turned to look at Mags with a confused look. “What commercial?” he asked.

Mags flushed. “Never mind,” he muttered. “It was atrocious. Luke and Hodge put me up to it. Let’s pretend it was never created.” He turned to Magnus. “They persuaded me to wear fake glasses, because they thought it would make me look trustworthy and smart…”

He laughed at Magnus’s openly horrified look. “Yea, right?” he said. 

Even Clary laughed a little, shrugging. 

“Oh come on,” Clary said. “You didn’t’ look THAT bad…” 

She shrugged her shoulders at that moment, gesturing over to where Isabelle and Jace were talking. 

Mags suddenly burst into laughter.

“Oh.._RIGHT_,” he gasped, lowering his voice. “Isabelle in the alternate world.”

Magnus looked intrigued. “Uh, is this something you can share?” he asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Weeeell,” Clary whispered, biting her lip in mirth, as she moved closer. 

Suddenly Magnus burst out laughing. Everyone turned to look at him.

“Oh, it’s nothing, sorry about that,” Magnus said.

He shot a glance over at Isabelle, who gave him a confused look. 

He in turn smiled – both apologetically and affectionately at her. 

Isabelle’s look remained confused, and then softened into an equally affectionate look at Magnus. 

“That’s great you and Isabelle are so close,” Mags noted. “She is pretty great. She was instrumental with helping me these past few days, when I was on my own…”

Magnus nodded. “Yes,” he breathed, gazing at Isabelle. “She was the main supporter for me and Alec from the very start…”

“It’s great how the love between the Lightwood siblings transcends worlds,” Mags noted.

“It appears that everything transcends, especially love,” Clary noted softly. Then she furrowed her brows. “Although I am going to keep that tidbit about Isabelle and Simon to myself for now…”

“Eh?” Magnus asked, suddenly interested.

Mags laughed. “Yea, that one’s a doozy, especially if what you told me is true, that Simon is the same here as he is in our world,” he said.

Clary nodded. “Yup,” she said cheerfully.

Magnus’s eyes widened. “NO WAYYYY,” he whispered. “Isabelle and…Sherman?”

Clary and Mags laughed. “Yup,” they said together, smiling,

Magnus shook his head. 

“Well, stranger things have happened, I suppose,” he murmured. 

He glanced over at Alec, who was still next to Lex. 

Alec looked up, and their gazes met and held. Alec’s hazel eyes softened as they drank each other in.

Meanwhile, Lex caught the look between Alec and Magnus. 

“Take care of him,” he said to Alec. “He’s been through a hell of a lot.”

Alec nodded. “I will,” he promised. 

...............

“Anyway, I think it’s about time for us to go,” Lex said. 

Together, Alec and Lex made their way toward Magnus, Mags, and Clary. Magnus gestured for everyone else to join them. 

Everyone clustered together, with Lex lacing his fingers through Mags’s.

Mags looked at Magnus. “Ready?” Magnus asked. Mags nodded. “On 3…”

Together they chanted something in an ancient language, and flicked their wrist. Suddenly a bright flash of light appeared, and then an iridescent, glowing blue portal appeared, shimmering in the air.

“It’s beautiful,” Isabelle whispered. Jace and Clary nodded, wide-eyed.

“Just like your magic,” Lex noted to Mags. Mags nodded happily. “Yup,” he said.

They both stepped toward the shimmering portal. 

“Hey,” Magnus said. They both turned around.

“We expect an invite to the wedding,” he said teasingly. Alec gave Magnus an incredulous look.

Mags flushed, while Lex beamed.

“You know it, darling,” Lex drawled. Then he threw Magnus a wink, while turning his look on Alec. “Same with the both of you,” he said. 

Now it was Alec’s turn to flush.

Magnus’s expression didn’t change. 

He knew that in the Shadow World, there were certain things that were still in place, including the laws whether interspecies marriages wouldn’t be recognized, or even permitted. 

It was rather disillusioning. But he knew all of that, going in. So, despite that, he swallowed down the disappointment, and grinned at Lex. 

“That’s nice of you to say, Lex. Thank you for your confidence in us. We will take it one day at a time,” he said finally.

Lex’s smile didn’t falter. 

“Oh, I think this one will surprise you. You’ll see, “ he said, looking directly at Alec. 

Alec and him appeared to share a look. 

Magnus looked on curiously, but decided not to push it for now.

“So I hate goodbyes,” Lex continued. “So why don’t we just say, “Until the next time.” And the next time will be purposeful, not by accident…”

Alec and Magnus looked at one another. “Sounds great to us,” Magnus said cheerfully.

Lex and Mags, with hands joined, waved at everyone. Then they looked at one another, and stepped into the shimmering portal. 

The portal closed and disappeared after them.

Isabelle, Jace, Clary, Magnus and Alec just stood there, staring at the space where the portal had been.

“Wow,” Jace said, still in awe. “That was really something…”

Isabelle huffed. “Yea, I’ll say,” she said. Then her brows knitted together. “Although there wasn’t really much said about my alternate self. I wonder how I’m like…”

Magnus bit his lip in mirth as Clary smiled widely at her. 

“Isabelle, darling,” he said. “You have nothing to worry about. From what Mags and Clary told me, you are smart and dazzling, and you have an amazing future, including your fated Prince Charming. You even end up _moving_ in with him!”

Isabelle’s eyes grew big.

“What?” she exclaimed. “Me, settle down? You’ve got to be kidding...” She stared at both of them disbelievingly. 

Then she mused, almost to herself, “Hmm, then I wonder – who is this mystery man I end up with – in that world, anyway…and I wonder if it could come to pass here as well…”

Then she shook her head. 

“Nah,” she declared confidently. “I’d rather not know. I’m happy right now with who I am. If it happens, it happens. I don’t want to know now.” 

Smiling happily, she turned to the rest of the group. 

“So, should we all head back to the Institute? I’m sure there’s a mission or two calling our name. And I’m sure we will need your help, Magnus,” she said. 

Her gaze flitted to Alec. “I’m sure Alec here wouldn’t mind you coming along…” 

Her voice trailed off suggestively.

Alec flushed once again, as Magnus took his hand, and tiptoed up to kiss him on the cheek. 

Alec’s face softened into a smile. 

“Yea,” he murmured, looking down at Magnus with an affectionate gaze in his hazel eyes. He gave his hand a loving squeeze. “Let’s go.”

_THE END_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is finished. It began as a one shot, which led to this! I wanted to thank everyone for their support. I totally enjoyed writing this.
> 
> Cheers and see everyone next time <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for joining me on this story with our characters. The Inverted holds a place in my heart and I have always wanted to write at least one for this universe. Kudos/Comments? I love them, please indulge mee. Much appreciated!


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